Dynamic
by Greensword101
Summary: Alternate Timeline of the DCAU. Why is a boy named Robin in the Justice League? No one aside from the Flash thinks this is a good idea, and for good reason. What kind of adventures and dangers will the "Boy Wonder" get into?
1. Prologue: Intruder?

**Author's Note: **This is the beginning of my "reboot" on this story for those who may not know it. New scenes will be added and some scenes will be edited for improvement. This is one story I want to get right, so please enjoy! The idea originally came to me from reading a Dick Grayson origin story called The Beginning by anakinlove. I was little disappointed with how one of the biggest scenes went and I even asked the writer if I could play with that scene a little bit (They said yes, by the way, so I'm very thankful for their blessing.) I don't want to say much about it because it might spoil later scenes, but all I can say is that Dick and Bruce had a tense relationship until that point in the story and I thought it was resolved too quickly.

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This Takes Place in the DC Animated Universe and is also my version of it, so it is a slight AU...ok, it's more of an AU that originally stays faithful to the original cartoon at first before it slowly evolves into something different. Kind of like that Naruto fanfiction, Team 8 (incredible story, by the way, and helped me think of how to write this story better.) Only Fair to Warn You.**

* * *

_"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."_

Lennie Small._ Of Mice and Men_.

* * *

**Prologue: Intruder?**

He should have stayed at home...

Their feet landed softly on the steel floor beneath them, making no sound at all, as if the two figures didn't exist at all. The first figure was tall by more than six feet, wearing a dark cape that draped down past their ankles, also concealing most of their body from view. Their companion stood several feet behind them; at least four feet tall, their face hidden by a gray hood attached to an equally dark cape. The taller figure stopped in front of a door and placed a hand on the wall right next to it, resulting in a section of the white-stained wall sliding down to reveal a keyboard. He typed in the numbers: **1-9-3-9**, automatically making the door slide open. Stepping in, the taller figure gestured to their smaller companion to come inside.

The room was completely empty, save for a bed and a large monitor. The walls were lined with titanium and lead in-between. Even the floor was bare, cold to the touch. Light briefly filled the room before being almost consumed once more by the empty void of darkness as the smaller figure barely entered the room in time. The taller figure reached into their belt and pulled out what looked like a remote. The tall figure clicked a button and the monitor before the two figures flashed into life. It would be assumed to be a he, although their face was largely concealed by a cowl that resembled that of a bat's head with long, pointy ears that gave the idea of being sharp and dangerous. Even his eyes appearing as nothing but white slits.

What little face that was seen in the blinding light of the monitor were the lips, which were a pale pink, and the chin, which was covered with stubble. The rest of the figure's attire was concealed by the cape, but every now and again, you could see a gray leotard with black tights around the groin with a symbol on the chest which also resembled that of a bat.

The figure heard the bed squeak from added weight and sighed. The smaller figure was barely seen in the darkness, but it was clearly a boy. His face was covered with a much simpler mask, one that covered his eyes and made them appear to be white, giving an impression of a raccoon. The man only saw the boy's face for a moment before the lad noticed he was being looked at and turned away.

"Robin." The man began in a gravely voice, like one who hadn't tasted water in days and reminded you of sandpaper. "We can leave any time you want to. We can head back and-"

"And what?" The boy called Robin muttered quietly, his voice was squeaky, like a mouse, and difficult to hear. "We can head back and what? Forget that this all ever happened? Ignore each other for the next two years?" With each question, however, Robin's voice grew stronger and louder, switching from a squeaky mouse to what may have sounded like a tough teenager voice.

"That wasn't what I meant." The man replied harshly. What little that was seen of Robin flinched at the voice. The man seemed to have noticed this and spoke a little softer now. "I meant that we could wait a while longer before jumping the gun on the others." The man walked over to the bed and sat down. He barely raised his arm, as if to wrap around Robin's shoulder, before he stopped himself and let his arm fall back onto the bed.

"But this was _your _idea."

"You should know by now that I can make some rash decisions sometimes."

Robin looked up at his companion, his eyes widening to the size of a barn owl. The older man looked down at the boy blankly, either unimpressed or not amused with Robin's look. When this continued for another minute, the man cleared his throat, making the boy blink with surprise, startled by the unexpected sound.

"Do you still want to do this?" The man asked Robin in that slightly softer voice.

"Yes."

"Yes what?" The man questioned in a tone that demanded complete obedience, unaware of the involuntary flinch coming from Robin.

"Yes _sir_." Robin gritted out, as if he was just being asked to eat a disgusting vegetable. "Am I supposed to just walk in there and say 'Hi, my name's Robin and I work with-"

"You wait for my signal, like we talked about." The man interjected. "And do you remember what the signal is?"

"Three beeps, then five, and then two more from my utility belt." Robin held up what appeared to be a wristwatch on his hand and mimed typing with his other hand, the code etched into his mind by heart. His next response implied uncertainty, almost as if there weren't anything else after the pre-mentioned signal. "And then I just waltz in there and-"

"Show no fear." The man stood up abruptly, his voice giving no room for argument. "We're already going to get into a lot of trouble by doing this, and we can't make it worse by having you come off as a spoiled brat."

"I never said I was spoiled!" Robin gaped in shock. "And who ever said that I was?"

"Just wait here and don't leave the room or give your position away, alright?" The man ignored Robin's indignant protests as he got up from the bed. Right as he was about to walk out of the room, he stopped and turned around. His tone suggested that his final words were more of an afterthought. "Oh, and in case you get bored, feel free to use the monitor. I've uploaded Stardust onto it and there's a controller behind the screen. Just press the center button on the controller to get the game set up. I...thought you might like it." And with that, the man walked out and closed the door behind him.

As Robin got off of the bed and started looking behind the monitor screen for the controller, all the while muttering. "Whatever you say...Batman."

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Space. In a word, it can be defined as eternal. To Martian Manhunter, it could be defined as emptiness. He looked down at his emerald-green skin, his hands resembling those of humans except longer and thicker-looking. How long was it since he felt the warmth of his beloved's hands against his? Or from one of his darling children? As he looked out a window in the giant space station better known as the Watchtower, so many thoughts appear with each sight that the darkness of space holds. So many months have passed already, and yet the ache in J'onn J'onnz's heart had not lessened one bit.

He missed his family, his friends, his home. Never again could he hold his children in his arms, feel his beloved's lips against his, spend the rest of his days living a normal life outside of fighting. Now the Justice League was his life, his present and future. There was nothing for him to look forward to aside from combating threats upon the Earth that most people aren't able to handle. J'onn never enjoyed violence, he preferred to mend wounds instead of creating more. This was not what a medic should be doing, but Superman once told J'onn that the world wouldn't be willing to accept the poor man should he live among them. Despite the cheers that J'onn would hear from people as he flew above them like an angel, Superman made it look like that those who cheered were merely putting on an act.

It made sense as well from what J'onn had experienced firsthand. How younger children would be pulled away from him by their parents, hostility radiating off of them like heat. Older children would often mimic the actions of the adults around them, going so far as to start throwing rocks, glass, cans, and whatever else they could find.

He had once heard of a mirror from a conversation between a mother and her little girl as J'onn drifted in the dark of the night. He was outside their window when he heard the mother speak of it, how the mirror would show one's innermost desires to the one standing in front of it. The concept interested him, and so J'onn pressed his body against the brick wall of the building the mother and daughter were in, allowing his skin to become the same color as the stone he was pressing against.

The mirror was from a story, where a boy, an orphan, looked into it and saw his entire family standing before him. Someone explained to the orphan how the mirror could drive people mad from what they saw. Perhaps J'onn was one of those people. How he longed to find a mirror like that, not just his family but the rest of his brethren as well. But as J'onn J'onzz looked at what little reflection he saw in the clear glass, all he could see right now was his own reflection; his emerald-green skin, his ruby-red eyes that somehow radiated so much life - at least, according to one of the younger-if not the youngest-members, the Flash - and his blue cloak with a red X over his "bare" chest with what Batman calls "blue tighty whities that would make people blush," whatever that meant.

This was just one of those times where J'onn wished he had never left Mars, that he should have died in flames along with the rest of his people. He still woke up sometimes holding his family closely as the fire licked at their skin, burning them all alive.

Those were the good dreams.

"Are you alright?"

J'onn turned around to see the worried face of Diana, another member of the Justice League. Standing around five feet and nine inches tall, everything about her screamed perfection. Her breastplate had the crest of a pale gold eagle stretched across the front, and was mainly ruby-red. The lower part of her armor was blue and covered with white stars. And her golden tiara that adorned her head went well with the silky, dark hair that fell down her shoulders. Her skin was so olive, it was almost golden. And her eyes, those pale blue eyes that were so soft you could cry from joy. Then J'onn thought of My'ria'h and imagined his throat dry in order to prevent it from moistening further.

The silence was almost deafening when J'onn broke it, his eyes closed in an attempt to hide how hot his eyes had become. He just wanted to be alone right now, he didn't want the others to see his weakness.

"How long has it been since we've met one another?"

"Six months, three weeks, five days-" Diana paused for a moment. "And at least twelve hours. Why do you ask?"

"It often feels longer." J'onn sighed. "Sometimes...I wish I were no longer alive. My wife...my children. They're gone and I'm still living...it doesn't seem right. Why couldn't I have died alongside with them?" The mere mention of his family brought up unbidden memories. The sound of his beloved whispering in his ear felt too real, the firm pressure of his children against his arms couldn't be an illusion. Tears flowed from his closed eyes, hot streams staining his face until a gentle hand cut off the flow of sadness. It felt cool to the touch..."cool as cucumber?"...was that the phrase that Flash used last week?

"Don't say that, J'onn," Diana sounded so close to him right now, he felt his mouth beginning to water again. "Never dwell on the past, it does no good."

"I appreciate your concern Diana," J'onn turned away from the woman, unable to look at her properly. He swallowed, trying to rid his mouth of the excess saliva. "But this is something that you wouldn't-"

"Understand?" Diana cut the Martian off and walked into his line of sight to show a small glare, not a harsh one like Batman would, but a disappointed one nonetheless. J'onn felt his chest grow heavy with apprehension. Diana continued, "You are not the only outsider, J'onn. I was certain Superman reminded you of that. As did I."

That was true. Diana left the Amazon island of Themyscira around the same time J'onn was discovered on Earth. He didn't ask the princess about her home, it didn't seem right. Nor did she feel comfortable bringing it up at all during conversations unless it were to support the arguments she had with the mysterious Hawkgirl. And Superman wasn't known as the Last Son of Krypton for nothing. But J'onn was certain that the male hero never felt alone, he must have had parents on Earth that loved him dearly if the Man of Steel could act so positive most of the time.

"Forgive me, Diana." J'onn lowered his gaze. "I forgot."

"You're here for a reason," Diana continued gently. "Just remember, we're here for you, J'onn, no matter what."

The Amazon proceeded to take one of the Martian's hands and hold it with both of her own. That same coolness J'onn felt against his cheek spread through his fingers from the simple contact, making his hands less heated. He welcomed that feeling, it reminded him of home. J'onn responded by placing his other hand over Diana's, with a small smile barely covering his face, appreciating the kind gesture. But on the inside, J'onn feels that Diana in all of her wisdom and wonder-not a play on the name the media gave her a few months ago, Wonder Woman-would never understand J'onn's pain the way he understands it.

_You're here for a reason_. Hah. A darker corner within J'onn's mind wanted to throw Diana's comment back in her face in spite. _She_ didn't watch her family die. _She_ didn't watch her entire home go up in flames for centuries until something inside snapped and made her go to war with those parasitic monsters. _She_ isn't the last of her kind, wasn't greeted by hostile humans who would capture and torture her for the sake of "science". He was the one who went through the darkest pains of Hell itself.

How he still curses the gods of Mars for whatever joke they are playing with him. What reason would it be aside to give J'onn witnesses to his failing sanity?

The sound of metal doors sliding open snapped J'onn out of his pessimistic thoughts. Without thinking, he withdrew his hands from Diana's, unable to understand his discomfort with other people seeing them like this. Entering the room was John Stewart, also known as Green Lantern, his usual attire of greens and blacks with a lantern-shaped symbol on his chest being covered by great amounts of chocolate syrup and ice chunks slowly dripping down his uniform. The chocolate-brown skin that wasn't covered with ice cream looked puce with rage from what J'onn could sense. It wasn't murderous, never like that for the most part, merely...irritated.

Behind him was Hawkgirl, the only other female on the team. Her name was rather literal, with a helmet that resembled the head of a hawk, with light red hair that curled down to her neck. Even her eyes bore the same golden color of hawks from what J'onn had seen of those creatures so far on Earth. A yellow sleeveless tunic with dark green leggings. What made her stand out the most was the large wings that stretched out on either side of her, and a mace the size of a short sword was tucked away in the belt on her hip.

In Hawkgirl's hands appeared to be a wide glass with a straw, and also didn't seem bothered by the melting ice cream in her hair and helmet. Last one behind them was Flash, dressed in a bright red suit similar to a body-suit with yellow lightning bolts on either side of his head and on the center of his chest, licking chocolate syrup from his fingers with delight. He always seemed to have a reason to smile, not even Batman frightened him that well.

On the outside at least. J'onn could always feel the fear radiating off of Flash in a similar fashion to those hostile to him. He never asked the man how he hid it so well to everyone else though. For some odd reason, he didn't even feel comfortable going in the young man's mind, even if it was to merely contact him via telepathy.

"I don't care how good your milkshakes are, Flash!" John barked with his head turned towards the Speedster, "If you forget to put the lid on the mixer again _after _pouring a carton full of ice cream in it, then you won't be just red. You'll be black and blue too!"

Flash didn't seem to be listening to the Marine. He merely gave a dramatic pose and spoke in a pathetic French accent, clearing using his '_I don't give a shit but I think this was funny_" voice.

"Zat iz the price ve must pay for 'ur aut!"

"That wasn't art," John retorted to his companion while Hawkgirl snorted at Flash's retort. "That was disgusting and inconsiderate!"

"You're just upset that I dropped your frappe by accident. You should have seen the look on your face." Flash grinned widely as if recalling the Green Lantern's reaction at the time. "And if there's anyone who should be complaining right now, it's the woman who wields the electric mace."

"You're just lucky this tastes so good." Hawkgirl commented with a frown in-between sips, though her lips curved slightly in what J'onn suspects is supposed to be for Flash's eyes only. He never felt comfortable prying into Hawkgirl's mind either, taking her refusal to take off that helmet of hers as a sign of vulnerability.

"Having a little trouble in the kitchen?" Diana smirked at her messy colleagues.

John merely pointed at Flash for an answer. Hawkgirl simply kept on drinking her frappe with content. Flash blushed with embarrassment and continued licking the chocolate sauce off of his fingers. J'onn felt his lips curl ever so slightly at this. At least there were some perks to living on Earth. It was just one of those days where he thought those simple words.

"Did you make one for Batman?" Diana asked to no one in general. It was obviously not the case, Batman hardly showed up at the Watchtower to begin with...let alone, interact with the others save for Superman. J'onn knew that Diana hoped that the grim hero would actually begin to interact more frequently though small matters, even if he didn't open his mouth. She always seemed curious about Batman, radiating feelings J'onn felt too embarrassed to bring up. The irony was that Diana herself didn't understand what she was feeling, possibly because they were...unknown to her.

"I thought he wasn't here." Hawkgirl shrugged. "And if he was, he'd probably stay inside of that room of his with the doors closed."

"Weird." Flash frowned, pondering at those words. "The door was open and I heard voices in there and..." He stopped speaking altogether as the other heroes looked at him suspiciously. This did not look good. J'onn prayed that whatever they were about to hear wasn't that important.

"What voices?"

"I...dunno." Flash replied hopelessly, showing visible signs of discomfort from the intense attention that he was now receiving. J'onn felt a pang of sympathy for the man, the times that he acted absent-minded always seemed to have a negative backlash. "Different?"

Hawkgirl reached for her mace, John held up his right fist that wielded an emerald ring on the third finger, Diana's eyes darted as if expecting an attack while Flash simply shifted uncomfortably in his place. J'onn had to put his foot down before something was broken...again.

"Before anyone panics, let me check the security system." He replied calmly as he walked up to the main computer. "Batman could merely be communicating with someone back in Gotham."

"Like a Batwoman?" Flash suggested sarcastically.

"..."

"Sounded high-pitched to me..." The young man added pathetically .

Several moments passed tensely as J'onn's frown deepened and deepened as he looked through each of the cameras. He scanned each one, seeing no signs of any interference with them. Though none of them were even remotely close to the room that Batman always resided in...

"No security systems have been breached." J'onn concluded. "Though it would be best to start investigating Batman's room just in case. But proceed with-"

Before he even finished his sentence, a gust of wind blew over him as Flash dashed into the hallway.

"-caution." J'onn finished slowly.

"Let's go after him before he hurts himself," John's body was suddenly encased in a thin green aura as the ring on his hand glowed, lifting him several inches off of the ground. Hawkgirl flapped her large wings a few times before her feet also left the ground as well. Both comrades pressed their arms together and dove out of sight into the same hallway that the Flash dashed into.

"I'll call Superman on the way." Diana said as she too started floating in the air, though the way she held herself in the air was more angelic than the militaristic styles from John and Hawkgirl. Right before she flew out of the room, Diana called back. "You should call Batman first before catching up with us."

J'onn pressed his ear to activate his communicator, inwardly groaning at the task he would have to do. Of all of the people he had to deal with, Batman clearly avoided contact with everyone else for a reason. So any attempts to reach out to the man were met with very mixed results.

Mostly negative.

"Batman." J'onn kept his voice level, anticipating that hostile voice of his comrade's. "Where are you?"

"In the gym." Batman's gruff voice came in slightly disheveled, as if he were caught in a compromising position. An image of Diana came unbidden into J'onn's mind again, requiring great sense of will from the Martian to banish the thought. Why was he thinking about his friend all of a sudden? "What is it?"

J'onn sent a silent prayer to the gods to help him handle whatever reaction he was about to have with his grim colleague."We believe that there might be an intruder on board the Watchtower..."

* * *

Flash wasn't surprised when he reached the destination first, noticing that the door to Batman's room was still left ajar. Though the flashing lights and the sounds of explosions were new. This was a first for the young man; he never got close enough to even touch the door to Batman's room, let alone, see it. The Speedster was expecting to see Batman's computer doing some analy-whatever it did while the Caped Crusader was gone. When he entered, however, he was not expecting to see the computer screen showing a video game in use. Especially one that reminded him of a game he has on his Playstation 3. There was a ship that appeared to be circling a planet while destroying any asteroid or weird centipede-looking creatures.

Definitely a game he had on his PS3...

But the one thing that made Flash's eyes widen the most was a someone sitting sideways in _Batman's_ chair. A groan came from the figure in the chair in the same high-pitched voice that the Speedster heard earlier. Was it a kid? If so, then how did a kid get in here?!

It was obviously a boy sitting there, completely oblivious to the hero that walked into the room. The combination of the dim lighting and the blaring screen made it almost impossible for Flash to see anything else.

"Come on, just one more ship." The boy muttered under his breath, frustration seeping from his voice. "No, no, don't hit me you stupid alien! Aww, come on! At least I got a new high score..."

Just then, Flash zoomed in front of the kid and snatched the controller out of his hand before he could react.

"Sorry. Game over, kid." the Flash teased. He got a good look of the intruder now; a black cape with a yellow underbelly was covering the boy's back, dark green gloves covered his hands, heavy-looking camo boots decorated his feet, dark-gray pants with a red tunic were also a part of the outfit, a domino mask concealed his eyes, and the strangest thing a part of the getup was a yellow R crest over the place where his heart would be. And he didn't look older than eight or nine. What was going on here?

The costumed boy blinked twice at Flash as if confused. Flash also stared at the boy, trying to see who would break contact first. For some odd reason, he felt like he was being probed by that boy's stare, like he were an animal choosing the best course of action to attack its prey.

"Was that a joke?" The boy finally asked. "Or were you thinking I'd give you a turn?" Right as he said this, the boy chuckled at his own little joke.

"That wasn't a joke." Flash kept his voice calm, not wishing to frighten the kid. He most certainly _did_ want a turn, but not in the room of the most frightening man that he ever had the misfortune of knowing.

"If that's the case, then I got a good joke for you. Knock-knock."

Flash frowned. "This isn't the time for-"

"Knock. Knock." The boy repeated impatiently.

"Who's there?" Flash sighed.

"Interrupting hero." The boy replied with a growing grin on his face.

Flash was so annoyed that he didn't suspect a thing as he said. "Interrupting hero wh-?"

The boy snatched the controller out of the Speedster's grasp while he talked and continued playing his game as if the conversation never happened. Flash mentally kicked himself for walking into that joke. So much for being the fastest...

"Excuse me? I'm talking to you." Flash spoke louder this time but the boy continued ignoring him. He stepped in front of the screen. "You know who I am?"

"Blocking my view?"

"That's not what I was talk-"

"Flash, the _least _you could have done was wait for us before barging in here!" Flash turned around to see John in the doorway, his large frame blocking most of the light from coming in. He scowled at his younger colleague with frustration for several moments before turning his attention to the boy in Batman's chair, clearly directing his attention back at the screen once more. John's eyes widened, and he rubbed them for a few moments as if to ensure that he was seeing things properly. The shock must have still engulfed him, since the next words to come out of John's mouth were-

"What are you and who are you doing?"

The boy broke down into a fit of giggles at the comment, and even the Flash joined in despite himself. It was just too much for him at the moment. Not exactly the best question to be asking a kid. John blushed when he realized what he just said and glared at the Speedster now. "Oh grow up! You know what I meant!"

"Yeah." Flash smirked. "But maybe the kid doesn't know. Maybe you should have tried something more on the lines of-"

"So anyways, how's your sex life?" The boy piped in, his voice taking on an odd accent as he did this. John's right eyebrow twitched at the comment.

"Like that!" Flash broke down into further laughter before he felt a hard whack on the top of his head. Instinct lead to Flash rubbing his head, trying to ease the pain now residing.

"Don't encourage the kid!" John withdrew his hand before turning his attention to the boy again. But Flash had barely heard what John had said just now...he just suppressed any further laughter and tried to keep his eyes on the kid, who now had John slowly advancing on him.

"You're in big trouble, young man!" John growled he reached out to grab a hold of the boy. The boy slapped the hand away and jumped off the chair. The look of mirth was now replaced with a glare that Batman would have been jealous of.

"_Y__ou're_ not the boss of me!" The boy snapped. John tried grabbing him again, but the boy ducked underneath the older man and threw a punch at him. John was sent flying several feet across the room, landing on his stomach. Flash stared with shock, already beginning to question if their unexpected guest had a death wish.

John groaned as he pulled himself off the ground before firing a green net from his ring, but the boy merely took off his cape and used the underbelly as a shield, neutralizing the green ring's powers. Flash felt a pang of sympathy for his older colleague, that ring of his was always neutralized by the color yellow. The boy pulled out a small metal rod that became a staff when he pressed a button on it and charged towards the Green Lantern before him. He twirled it like a baton before striking Green Lantern over the head with it, the blow being blocked by a green barrier that the Marine managed to produce out of his ring.

Flash lunged over and attempted to catch him, but the kid somehow dodged that too and countered with a strong kick to the stomach. Pain spread throughout Flash's torso, but he dealt with worse before. He merely smirked, trying his best to hide the pain. He refused to give someone the satisfaction of hurting him.

"Guess you aren't as weak as you look."

"Guess you aren't as fast as you look either." The boy remarked, a smirk spreading across his face as well. He then started to run out of the room, with the Flash and John trying to keep up. Flash assumed that with his speed, there would be no problem when it came to capturing. He was now finding his ideal outlook being challenged by some random kid dressed like a vigilante who seemed to have everything but the sink inside of that belt of his. Each time Flash or John got even remotely close, the boy merely threw small explosives and even marbles at them to trip them up.

Flash ended up falling victim to an unexpected spillage of marbles, his speed quickly becoming his downfall. He wasn't able to stop, the glass beads underneath him reduced traction and therefore, control. He prayed that he would quickly regain traction again only to see that the hallway they were all running in had a turn up ahead. A sharp turn.

Flash brought up his hands and started spinning in a circular manner, hoping that he could create enough wind to push him away from the oncoming wall. He found himself becoming disappointed when he realized that he was going too fast and merely brought his hands to his face in a useless effort to protect himself. As the wind was knocked out of him from the collision, Flash silently wondered how the others were going to handle the boy...

* * *

Robin struggled to hold down his giggles, he was that nervous and excited at the same time. He couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun from simply running. Well, running _and_ throwing stuff at the people chasing him. It brought up good memories. The sound of a body colliding into a wall made Robin almost come to a complete halt. He wasn't trying to get someone _that_ hurt; he was just bored. Maybe he should go back and check up on-

"Flash! You okay?"

"Give...a few seconds...I'll be alright..." The second voice, Flash's, sounded a little groggy at the moment. Robin felt his face grow warm with guilt, he didn't mean for that to happen...he _should _go back and apologize-

"When I get my hands on that kid, he's going to pay for this!"

Then again...maybe not...

Robin kept on running, picking up speed when he started to feel the Green Lantern's nostrils flare close by. A second sound followed close by, resembling the sound of a jet plane, confirming that the Flash had made true to recovering quickly. Didn't Batman say something about a fast healing rate? He reached into his utility belt when he saw a tall woman with wings fly in, Hawkgirl, followed by another woman that he was all too familiar with based on those images that he saw Batman looking at back at the cave during those times he managed to avoid being detected. Wonder Woman. Princess of the Amazons. And apparently just as pissed off as that Green Lantern.

Maybe that's her _normal_ face?

Just as he saw that ferocious look upon the woman's face, Wonder Woman's expression started to falter. As if she was actually paying attention to who was standing right in front of her. Hawkgirl flapped her large wings out in front of her as she mimicked her companion's expression. For several moments, Robin could feel time slow down as both sides tried to stare the other one down. Or to be more precise, Robin was the one trying to stare down the two women who seemed to be looking _through _him.

"Don't let his size trick you! He's tougher than he looks!"

Robin looked over his shoulder to see the Green Lantern soaring in the air, his body shrouded by a green aura. As he turned around in preparation for a retreat, he noticed Hawkgirl swooping in with her mace raised. Or to be more precise, he saw Hawkgirl swooping in with her _electrified_ mace raised, the electricity cackling brightly. Right as she was about to strike, Robin jumped and pushed off of the woman's shoulders with his hands to gain more momentum, and then rounded it off with a roundhouse kick. As Hawkgirl crumbled to the ground, Robin proceeded to dance around on one foot, now experiencing the hard way that the helmet on that woman's head was _hard_.

"I'm pretty sure John meant to stop him, not _crush_ him." Flash's voice piped up now, his tone sounding a little like a teacher reprimanding a student for bad behavior.

Hawkgirl groaned. "If a former Marine says not to be deceived, I'm certain you're supposed to listen."

"He's a _kid_!"

Robin ducked underneath a punch that Wonder Woman threw at him, clearly not comprehending what Flash was trying to say or simply didn't care enough to listen. As he grabbed his opponent's wrist with one hand and delivered a perfect punch with the other, Robin tried to recall what those files Batman made him read said about Wonder Woman. Wasn't there somewhere on the file that stated that Wonder Woman was a little punch-happy? As he saw a thin, but sturdy looking arm intercept his blow briefly before a fist obscured his vision making Robin duck again, he made a mental note never to get on her bad side if they ever met again. Ever.

He back-flipped several times to give himself some distance, not taking note of the fact that Wonder Woman seemed to have stopped attacking altogether. Suddenly, he felt another presence, almost like there was a ghost in the room. Minus the visible breath part.

It felt like it was getting closer as the Green Lantern fired a thick beam made of the same green aura surrounding him towards Robin from the small ring attached to him. Recalling that yellow somehow counteracted the effects of the ring, Robin removed his cape and flipped it so that the yellow underbelly was facing the Green Lantern, acting as a makeshift shield. But instead of going for another angle, the Lantern man just seemed to continue pressing forward with his attack. As the eerie presence grew stronger, Robin realized what the source was and smiled.

"No offense, but the whole 'distracting the enemy while your friend does a sneak attack from behind' thing is _not_ original. Nice try though, um...Martian Manhunter? Is that right?"

The green glow of the beam faded, allowing Robin to turn around just in time to see a tall, green figure materialize seemingly out of nowhere. Martian Manhunter. He probably didn't expect someone to detect him, judging the look on his face. That turned out to be a mistake however, when Robin took advantage of his dazed confusion to leap over the Martian and pushed off of the man, knocking him off balance as a result.

But before he could even run two steps, he felt something wind itself around his waist before tightening, pinning his arms together and making him lose his balance. Robin looked down to see what was binding him and noticed the thin, golden rope. He looked up to see Wonder Woman holding up the other end of the rope with a triumphant smirk on her face. She proceeded to walk over and use the rest of her simple rope to tie his hands behind his back and locked his ankles together for a good measure.

No matter, he could get out of these types of knots before, why should this be different? He tried to shift his weight, trying to find a place where the knot would be weaker around his torso. When that didn't work, he tried to get his hands from out behind him in the hopes of being able to work on his wrists more easily. Robin frowned. The rope was thin, but it just felt...tight.

No matter how hard he struggled against the bindings, he couldn't break free. A sense of panic washed over him. He shouldn't be stuck like this! He was supposed to know how to get out of every situation. He couldn't even reach for his utility belt that Wonder Woman was just so _wise_ to leave on his person. As Robin squirmed ever more frantically at the rope binding him, he started to suspect that it was more out of confidence rather than carelessness.

"You can struggle all you want." His female captor leered down at him. "But I could use this lasso on Superman and he wouldn't be able to break free."

"You obviously haven't tried it out on him yet!" Robin threw back. No way in heck was she going to make those kind of assumptions about the strongest man in the world. Maybe even the universe. He was starting to look like an idiot now, Robin was now flopping like a fish out of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others looking down at him. _Pitying _him. He must be looking pretty pathetic right now.

"Let me go!" Robin protested, his pride going out the window. Batman would be so disappointed right now.

"Thank you, Diana." Martian Manhunter nodded with approval. "Perhaps it would be best to ask this boy how he got here."

"Why don't we untie him a little first?" Flash suggested before a near unanimous stare down from the others seemed to have withered his opinion. Robin couldn't help but hear the man mumble. "He's just a little kid."

He didn't need sympathy...did he?

Green Lantern stepped forward. "So how should we do this then? Good Cop, Bad Cop? Direct Approach? Threaten to call his parents?" Robin could swear that he felt that last suggestion being thrown at him specifically.

"I think I might be able to help with this." Robin turned around in the direction of the voice. His struggling was all but forgotten as he made eye contact with the source. He knew that his heart was racing, he felt closed in from the combination of being tied up and having several people surrounding him. So many things that he wanted to say, but also unsure of how to express them without the others hearing. _Eight months._ That long since the two were in the same room together.

Dressed in complete blue with red tights around the groin. Jet-black hair with eyes so dark-blue, they resembled water. Robin fondly remembered a comment how his eyes looked so similar to _his_. His chest had a red and yellow symbol that resembled an S. Trailing behind him, besides the red cape of course, was a dark, billowing figure. Batman. Robin almost felt as if he were being plunged into a bucket of ice.

The man in blue knelt down to his level when he got close enough, ignoring Wonder Woman's look of confusion, and proceeded to begin untying Robin. The boy could sense that the man was being as gentle and quick as he could. He briefly gave Robin a simple look, a look of reassurance and to calm the heck down. Robin didn't care that other people were watching; the moment his bindings were off, he latched onto his savior like a lifeline. To his relief, the embrace was returned. It felt so good to see him again.

"Thanks Superman." Robin breathed quietly. Superman's response was to to ruffle the boy's hair, despite the returning grumbles coming out of the boy's mouth. Leave it to him to ruin a perfectly good moment.

Flash was the first to speak up, voicing the one thing that was on everyone's minds,

"Uh, Superman? Do you know this kid or something?"

"Even better." Superman smiled. "I know who's responsible for him."

* * *

"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?"

The temperature seemed to have dropped by ten degrees. Or at least by Flash's perspective, that is. When Batman came closer, he felt a pang for the boy as he looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock, pressing his back against Superman for support- emotional or physical- who gently placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy seemed to have calmed down a little, as his face became blank.

Batman looked down at the young boy. "You were supposed to wait for my signal." Wait a second, Batman _knew_ about this?!

"I _was._" the boy explained in a quiet voice, clearly uncomfortable with the taller man's presence. "But...I think the...door was...open."

The door? That was what started this whole mess in the first place, Flash realized with shock. Now it looked like the kid was going to pay for _his_ mistake. Flash should have ignored that stupid door.

"And you're expecting me to blame _you_ for a careless mistake on my part?" Batman questioned. The boy sighed with relief as he heard this.

"Is someone going to explain what's going on or do I have to make you start talking?" Hawkgirl raised her mace threateningly.

Batman turned to his confused colleagues while Superman and the boy shared a grin with one another. "This was meant to be a surprise. I'd like to introduce you all to Robin. He's my new partner...and my son."

Flash definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore...

* * *

**This is a reboot to the original Dynamic story that I was working on last November. I'm actually glad I decided to redo this, since I've actually fixed a good bit so far in my opinion. I'll be updating the other chapters throughout the week, so don't worry about any delays, but feel free to make any suggestions on what I should add or take out if you are a reader of the original Dynamic story. I'll do my best to make Robin sound more like a kid and add more to his personality.**

**Please give Constructive Criticism in the reviews. I will do my best with this series and am also trying to write in the way they did in the "Justice League" cartoon, so I'm sorry if some of the dialogue didn't sound as good as you'd hope it would be. DC Animated Universe Forever! Happy Readings!**


	2. Chapter 1: Introductions and Concerns

**Author's Note: Keep giving reviews and suggestions on how characters should talk, I would appreciate that, as I want to make sound like the cartoon in terms of writing. I am not like Paul Dini or Bruce Timm but anything you guys can point out in the comments will be of great help. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This Takes Place in a slightly AU DC Animated Universe, only fair to warn you.**

**Chapter 1: Introductions and Concerns**

Everyone was silent as they stared at the Dark Knight and the boy called Robin. Diana was looking very intensely at Batman, trying to see through the blank expression that he always kept on his face. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern had their mouths wide open in shock at the news, though not as comically wide as you would see in cartoons. Superman kept his hand on Robin's shoulder, who seemed to be getting more comfortable with the other heroes around him. J'onn kept a blank look on his pale-green face, almost a complete image of Batman's expression. And Flash turned his head to see everyone's reactions before he started laughing.

"Okay, we get it," Flash held his sides together as his body was racked with laughter, "Good one, Bats. Never knew you had a funny bone in-"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Batman glared harshly at the Speedster.

"Well...," Flash started uncertainly when he saw how serious the Dark Knight was looking, "No..."

"He's joking all right," Robin spoke up in a sarcastic tone that made Superman groan, "In fact, Batman just kidnapped me into being his sidekick and calls me his 'ward' with a creepy grin on his face. Sad thing is, he doesn't even know what the word means when I asked him, so...yeah. That's me and Bats in a nutshell."

"This isn't a laughing matter." Green Lantern frowned at the kid, "Who are you, really?"

"Well," Robin began slowly- Superman held his breath as he anticipated another sarcastic answer, "To Batman, I'm his partner and...kid. To Supes, I'm one of his best friends. To Commissioner Gordon, I'm a civilian that's poking his nose in the wrong place. And to this guy," Robin then pointed at the Flash accusingly, "_He _thinks that I'm a joke."

"I have a name you know," Flash frowned, "Do you know what it is?"

Robin merely blinked several times, before speaking in a monotone voice towards the Speedster, "I have a feeling it's Steve..."

"Twenty bucks says those two are long-lost brothers," Hawkgirl muttered to John.

"What makes you think that?" The Marine whispered back.

"Think about it," Hawkgirl replied, "That kid is definitely not like Batman."

"I have ears you know," Batman growled, startling the two heroes gossiping.

"Long, long ears," Robin muttered, taking note of the ears on Batman's costume. It was true, they were long.

"Pay attention, kid. I'll give you a hint," Flash sighed at Robin's lack of attention, "My costume is _red_ and I'm considered the fastest man alive. That specific enough for you, kid?"

"A name...okay... your costume is red," Robin thought out loud. He snapped his fingers as if an answer came to him, "Fastest man alive...really goofy despite being an adult...I got it! You're Santa Claus!"

"Dude!" Flash cried indignantly while Hawkgirl tried to hold down chuckles, "How does that make sense?"

"Simple," Robin smirked, "You're wearing red, Santa can travel all over the world in one night, and you're acting really immature for your age. _That specific enough for you, kid?" _Now he was throwing back the Speedster's comment back with greater sarcasm.

"Is that your superpower?" Flash raised his voice slightly, "Being able to annoy someone in two seconds flat?!"

"Nope. You're just 'super-sensitive,'" Robin retorted before blowing a razz-berry at the man before him, "If I _were_ to use my real powers on you, then it would make Superman look like a weakling. No offense by the way, Superman, I'm just saying I'm really tough."

"None taken," the Man of Steel shrugged nonchalantly.

"How about we go another round. Maybe we'll see if you can back up those words?" This time, Flash raised his fists threateningly.

"Ohhh," Robin's eyes widened, "I'm sooo scared. What're you gonna do? Trip over a bunch of marbles again?"

"Let's see how tough you are without those marbles!" Flash retorted.

"No need to. I already lost them years ago," Robin laughed at his little joke. Superman raised an eyebrow at this comment, making note to bring this up to Batman when he had the chance.

Flash groaned, "Even _I _could have done better than that."

"Robin," Batman spoke to his partner. The boy stopped laughing and frowned at the Dark Knight, "I want you to be more civil around my colleagues-"

"Colleagues?" Flash repeated the words in disbelief. Six months of working with a sun-hating hero and the Speedster never expected Bats to refer to him or anyone else on the Watchtower as a "colleague."

"Batman just said colleagues," Robin gasped dramatically, "It's a sign of the apocalypse! Quick, to the Batmobile!"

Superman started to laugh loudly, much to everyone else's surprise. Flash quickly joined in when he finally understood the reference. Hawkgirl chuckled lightly, though she didn't mean it. Wonder Woman and John merely looked at each other with confusion. Batman and J'onn simply said nothing.

"Is the kid just here for comedy relief?" Hawkgirl finally asked.

"He's my partner," Batman explained coldly, "And still needs to know when to get _serious_." At the end of this sentence, Batman turned his glare towards Robin, who slowly stopped laughing and turned a light shade of red.

The Speedster sighed after several moments of laughing, "You know what? I'm gonna make some more frappes. Anyone else in the mood?"

"I am curious about these...frappes. Might I join you?" J'onn offered. As the two heroes walked off, Green Lantern pursued them.

"Oh no," He began in a warning tone as he caught up with J'onn and Flash, "Flash already bombed it several minutes ago, I will _not_ have him make the place a mess again!"

"Maybe you could make me one too," Wonder Woman suggested before seeing John glaring at her and adding, "Under...careful supervision that is."

"I could go for a snack!" Robin rushed towards the kitchen. A green wall suddenly formed in front of the boy, stopping him in his tracks. Robin looked indignant at Green Lantern for an answer.

"Sorry kid," Green Lantern frowned, "But you plus Flash equals disaster. It's best that you wait till he leaves the kitchen."

"Fine," grumbled Robin. He then snatched the frappe out of Hawkgirl's hands, "But I'm taking her drink instead!"

"Hey!" Hawkgirl cried in protest, "Get your own."

As Robin drew his lips close to the straw, Batman snatched the drink out of his grasp and handed it back to its frustrated owner. Hawkgirl grunted with gratitude before helping herself to the beverage once more.

"What gives?" Robin demanded to the Dark Knight.

"This is mocha flavor and you know caffeine is bad for you," Batman explained in his grim voice, "I don't want you to have backwash either."

"It's pretty hard to stay up at least 18 hours a day," Robin protested, "Gimme a break."

"I'm sure this is coming from experience," Superman explained calmly to his young friend, "After all, you two have had your share of sodas together."

"Used to," Robin muttered under his breath. The Man of Steel's ears picked up on the last comment and felt his muscles tense up. Luckily, no one else seemed to have heard the words as clearly as the Kryptonian did. Superman still made a mental note of this comment nonetheless.

"How did you know it was mocha?" Flash looked at Batman inquisitively.

"It's the only thing you like to make in that kitchen because it has caffeine in it," Batman replied simply, "Even you need your morning buzz."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Robin glared at his mentor as they watched the other League members walk off. Flash lingered behind, hearing the upset tone in the lad's voice.

"You coming, Flash?" John called to the Speedster. Flash sighed and dashed off.

"There's a workout room not far from here," Batman suggested, "We could test out a new obstacle course in there."

"Sounds like a plan," Robin replied, though he didn't sound as enthusiastic as Batman had hoped. As the duo made their way to the workout room, a strong hand was placed on Batman's shoulder.

"Batman, I was wondering if you could talk to me in private for a few minutes," Superman kept a friendly face in front of Robin, "I was meaning to talk to you about one of your rouges planning something in Metropolis. Two-Face, I think?"

Robin tensed up at the mention of the word, Two-Face, and backed away slowly.

"Could we talk in my room...alone?" Superman finished the question.

As an answer, Batman nodded and let the Kryptonian lead the way into Superman's quarters without looking back at his protege.

"Oh sure, go ahead," Robin called out to the two adults, though his voice cracked a little, "Leave the minor unsupervised!"

This day was not turning out as he had hoped it would be. Robin was supposed to join the League, not be ignored like something unpleasant! He punched a wall in frustration, leaving a small dent in the metal. Robin felt his fingers crack from the force, expecting Alfred to have a field day over this back at the cave. Holding his hand in pain, Robin glumly slumped onto the floor.

* * *

"What do you think of that kid, John?" Hawkgirl asked the Green Lantern as they walked down the hall.

"I think Batman's got a few screws loose in that head of his," John grumbled, "What person in the right mind would bring a kid into this type of work?"

"I dunno," Flash jumped in, "He was able to deal with us for awhile. And who says Batman's sane anyways?"

"We merely underestimated him," Diana replied, "If Batman taught him, then we should have a pretty good idea of what he's capable of."

"In other words, we have _no_ idea whatsoever," Flash corrected, "I mean, how often do we see Bats?"

"More often than we'll see that kid," John replied.

"Could you give Robin a break?" Flash was starting to get annoyed, "He reminds me of...me."

"And that's my reason for not doing so," the Marine grumbled.

Flash looked back over his shoulders, wondering how Robin was doing. He decided to turn the other way, surprising his teammates and found the young hero slumped onto the floor by himself. He took one look at the kid and sighed,

"Look, if you promise not to give me a hard time, you can come into the kitchen with us. Okay?"

"And what do you mean by 'hard time,'" Robin raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Like not teasing me mercilessly," Flash explained, showing a small grin on his face encouragingly.

Robin looked at the Speedster suspiciously before holding out a hand, "Truce?"

Flash grinned a bit before closing his own hand around the boy's in agreement, "Sure, truce." Robin winced as the Speedster squeezed his hand a little, and quickly withdrew it before Flash noticed the grimace. The Speedster then helped pull Robin up to his feet and gently pushed him towards the others...or more like picked him off his feet and dashed over to the rest of the League. John groaned with frustration as he saw Flash place Robin down to the ground. The peace between those two could not possibly last long.

"Sorry about the introductions back there," Robin mumbled to the floor, his face burning red with embarrassment over his poor first impressions, "I'm really not like that. Can we start over?"

The other heroes looked at one another, wondering which of them was brave enough to as Robin put it "start over."

Everyone figured out that Robin was just talking to Flash when they saw his head turned towards the Speedster. Flash's face slowly turned into an infectious grin once more as he said, "Sure. Why not? Come on guys, give Rob another chance."

The other heroes hesitated, unsure of who was brave enough to do what Flash just offered. It wasn't everyday that Batman brought in an ally that might just seem more difficult to handle than the Dark Knight himself. Clearly, J'onn was the bravest as he stepped forward, extending his hand in greeting.

"I am Martian Manhunter, but you may refer to me as J'onn," the Martian spoke in a calm voice. Both heroes grasped hands briefly, already feeling the pressure of friendship blossom between them, "It's nice to meet you."

Robin grinned widely at the alien, "Vise versa. Bats told me a _lot_ about you and I was hoping to meet you...under better circumstances. Name's Robin, but you already knew that of course." He chuckled weakly at his comment.

J'onn could sense that the boy was being honest. Beneath that cold and impish nature of his, Robin seemed to be radiating with warmth. The Martian could almost feel it coming off of the lad. But he also sensed that the boy was hiding something else that even the Martian's mind couldn't make clear of.

Wonder Woman followed J'onn's example. She held out her hand, "I am Diana. I am a princess from Themyscira...that is, until I left a few months ago."

"Diana...nice name. So you're really a princess?" Robin looked very interested. Diana nodded, making the boy's mouth drop, "Get out! I always thought Batman was exaggerating. I always thought you were from outer space too, just like Superman."

Hawkgirl felt braver now that the kid was acting friendlier, "I'm Hawkgirl. But if you want to call me anything else, then don't! If there's one thing Mr. Gloom and Doom hasn't gotten out of me yet, it's my real name."

"...And I respect that wish," Robin answered cautiously. He should have given her a better first impression instead of hitting her. So much for looking tough on the first day...

Green Lantern was the last one to hold out his hand, despite it being a begrudging gesture as seen by his grim expression, "Green Lantern, better known as John Stewart. But I'm guessing you already knew that."

"Your ID is public, so yeah," Robin said sheepishly.

"It's a wonder how you are working with Batman," Flash replied as he suddenly placed a hand on the young hero's shoulder.

"Let's just say we both have a high tolerance for each other," Robin replied.

"High tolerance?" Flash asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Robin merely nodded and responded, "Let's just get some milkshakes made already before I hit puberty."

* * *

Walking down the hall with the Man of Steel already had warning signs going off in Batman's head. That always seemed to be the case with Superman nowadays. It wasn't often that Superman would let Batman enter into his world as often as he should. So when the door to the Kryptonian's room was opened, Batman wasn't expecting to see the walls covered with newspapers compared to his barely-lit room with only a computer as a companion. When Batman took a closer look at the newspapers, he saw that they were actually specific events connected to the Justice League.

One showed Flash with a group of orphans, all of the kids smiling-_actually smiling_\- in front of the Central City Orphanage, the first time the League ever heard of their Speedster doing charitable work outside of hero duties. Wonder Woman dominated the front page in the Daily Planet as the picture depicts Bizarro being taken down in one punch by the Amazon, courtesy of Jimmy Olsen's amazing photography abilities, Batman recalled that was the first time Diana ever let herself be seen in the larger public eye. J'onn and Superman share a front page in the New York Times from two months ago, lifting up a bus filled with civilians together, when people saw two aliens of different species working together. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern shared a front page together as well in the Daily Planet as they simultaneously take down Copperhead and Solomon Grundy, possibly marking the first time those two seemed to have worked together properly.

But the last one that was at the foot of Superman's bed was also the recent clip posted. The Gotham Gazette also had a field day by the looks of last week's edition. On the front cover was Batman and Robin standing over the unconscious bodies of the Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and basically almost all of their rogues together. The headline read: **NEW DYNAMIC DUO IN GOTHAM? **

"So," Batman began, "Is Two-Face actually planning something or is this really about Robin?"

Superman dropped his act the moment those words came out of his friend's mouth. He frowned, "Bruce-"

"Don't call me Bruce. Not in uniform!" Batman growled in warning.

"Bruce, we need to talk about Robin. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?" Superman matched Batman's glare with one of his own, ignoring the warning that came form the man he was talking to, "People are starting to talk. Apparently, kids and crime-fighting don't mix in today's world. Are you trying to ensure that your 'crusade' stays alive?"

"I'm doing what I think is best for Robin," Batman merely responded with a blank expression, devoid of most emotion.

"Do you even remember what happened the last time you tried this stupid idea?" Superman countered. Batman visibly flinched at the comment, his face briefly contorting with emotions. The Man of Steel knew he hit the right button this time.

Batman countered, "He merely suffered multiple bruising and had a broken arm-"

"Don't think you can hide all the details from me like last time!" Superman raised his voice this time, "We both know what you're saying is a lie!"

This time, the Dark Knight couldn't bear to look Superman in the eyes, only focusing his attention on the photo of Wonder Woman.

_Watch her sling those slender arms with grace. That beautiful hair of hers shining in the sunlight. So silky and smooth._

"I thought we both agreed two years ago to never let him play dress up and patrol Gotham at night anymore!"

_Look at Wonder Woman's face. Her lips a natural rosy-red. Her skin a nice tone of olive._

"I shouldn't be surprised that you went back on your word though!"

_See the twinkle in her blue eyes. Sparkling like the stars that you see her gaze at in the long nights. A near-perfect resemblance to how Snow White might look in real life._

"History is just going to repeat itself if you don't end this before it begi-"

"I LEARNED FROM THAT MISTAKE CLARK! DON'T PRETEND I FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT!" Batman roared in Superman's face.

"This is child endangerment, Bruce!" Clark retorted, "I didn't want to talk about it in front of Dick because I didn't want to upset him. He's just a kid-"

"He's almost twelve years old and growing into a fine young man-"

"He is still a minor in the eyes of the law!" Clark threw back, "If you keep this up, Child Services will intervene and make it their _ambition _to arrest you and take Dick away from you and Alfred! Is that what you want?"

"Are you threatening to let that happen to your own _godson_?" Batman growled in a more menacing tone, "I know I made mistakes back then. I know I screwed up, but I am trying to make things right! Do you really think I wouldn't learn from the past?"

"No," Clark said quietly, "I just don't want him to get hurt again...like last time!" He ended that sentence with another glare that was even more terrifying that the Bat-Glare, not that the Dark Knight would ever tell the Boy Scout that.

"I swear that nothing will happen this time," Batman deflated, his defenses going down. He pulled off the cowl to reveal Bruce Wayne in an effort to show his friend how serious he was about the statement.

"Swear your life on it and I'll believe you," Clark crossed his arms.

Bruce raised his right hand automatically and spoke clearly, "I swear on my life that I will keep Robin safe from every possible danger that I can. As both his mentor and as his father."

"You better, Bruce," Clark proceeded to walk out of the room, "Or sooner or later, you won't be either any longer."

**Author's Note: I'm trying to show the League being more against Robin than in the original story, just to make it so Robin has a bigger uphill battle to deal with this time. Once again, _please_ review this story. I really want you guys to like it and I want to be able to tell it more completely than last time (I didn't even finish last time...)**

**Also, this Flash is also Wally West like in the show, just thought I'd put that out there since this is a part of the DC Animated Universe and I want to maintain him in the show for reasons of accuracy and story-telling. Thank you again for your growing support, I'm glad to get these ideas out online. Publishing these stories already makes my day perfect. Happy Readings!**


	3. Chapter 2: Frappes and More Surprises

**Author's Note: Thank you, Sora Tsuiki, for your reviews. I want everyone else who is enjoying this to try and follow in Sora's example, and review to your hearts't content. I really want to hear what you all think of this story so far...again.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

**Chapter 2: Frappes and More Surprises**

Robin slowly walked behind the Speedster, almost reminded of a man on death row for some odd reason. Maybe it was the current atmosphere. It was strange, because Flash seemed to be completely comfortable with the young hero to the point where he would try and place a hand on his shoulder occasionally, only for Robin to shove it off roughly. He needed his personal space too! Robin looked ahead to see Diana walking close to John-no wait-J'onn. Their names just sounded so similar, Robin was certain that even the people back on Earth got the Green Lantern and the Martian's names mixed up from time to time. It was so confusing. Not just the names, but the way the Princess seemed to be interacting with the Martian. Batman's not going to be pleased about this. The Dark Knight never said a word about the Amazon at all, but after living with the man for several years, Robin could somewhat read his thoughts, depending on whether or not Batman knew he was being watched. The young hero remembered yesterday how he had asked about the warrior princess and the only answer he got was that he'd find out. But there was something in the man's eyes when he said it, something like a twinkle, that made Robin realize that there was more than admiration between the two...at least, he thought there was something between the two.

He turned to look at Hawkgirl, who was walking so close to the Marine that their shoulders were touching each other. He could see Hawkgirl's turned head as she muttered quietly into John's ear until one of her hawk-like eyes noticed the young hero staring and closed her mouth. John noticed this and turned around, his look of confusion quickly changed into one of disapproval. Robin had the distinct feeling that he was the subject of their...conversation. What was it with adults and talking about kids when they're standing close by?

It helped to look out of the windows in the hallway, and maybe even pretend he was floating in the frigid stillness of space. Robin had to admit, the sight was incredible to see, it was almost like being an angel watching from afar. The stars were tiny diamonds just waiting to be touched, so delicate, so small that the slightest touch might destroy the jewels of space. Robin always thought that the sky was black, but now he saw that it was an array of colors. Blues and purples and whites and even specks of yellow. It was as amazing as well as depressing at the same time. The fact that in space, people were nothing more than specks of dust that didn't belong, too small to be seen. He could actually see the Earth spinning like a snail. 24 hours was how long it took to complete it's rotation, his teacher said, and it took all of his being and a gentle hand from Barbara placed onto his arm that kept him from saying something that might have gotten him suspended.

And it wasn't just at school, adults always seemed to view him as someone helpless and in need of "guidance." God forbid that anything happen to those fools. It was one thing to try to be nice to Robin, but it was another thing to treat him like he was nothing more than an ignorant toddler. Sure he was small, but that wasn't an excuse for people to just ignore him outright as if he didn't exist. Didn't they know how much anger would begin to swell inside of him? Did the fact that anything that was said to a kid at his age would be very impressionable and affect him for years to come? Are people really that dimwitted, that ignorant, that retar-

"Earth to Robin," something was rapping at Robin's head, reminding him of a squirrel hitting a nut for some odd reason.

"We're not on Earth," Robin replied without thinking, "We're in a spaceship that's floating in orbit until-"

"You know what I meant," the rapping on his head stopped as Robin saw the Flash squat down to his eye-level. Something about that grin on the Speedster was both creeping and at the same time, patronizing. It was pretty childish-looking. Flash continued, "You drifting off, pipsqueak?

Robin took one more look at J'onn-no wait-John and Hawkgirl, who had now walked past him and were whispering to each other more quickly before replying, "Guess I"m just trying to tune... things out."

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Flash grinned, "I do it all of the time."

Robin furrowed his eyebrows at the Speedster, making the man flinch.

"Like father, like son, huh?" Flash's grin faltered, his voice notably lower now.

Robin finally said in a monotone voice, "I can see why Batman doesn't like mixing with you...he already deals with me." Flash only laughed. Adults were so ignorant of how children worked...

* * *

Superman stared at the computer screen, feeling an awkward silence between him and Batman. Of course Bruce would act immature about the topic and give him the cold shoulder, and he doesn't even have the Kryptonian's super-breath. The Dark Knight was probably thinking of ways to torture his mind right now.

Maybe the issue wasn't that Superman brought it up, maybe it was the idea that Batman felt no trust from his...friend?...ally? Obviously the Bat didn't see the two of the as friends, but it was different from the Man of Steel's perspective. The least that the Dark Knight could do was acknowledge that Superman was helpful, but that was it. Maybe there is a barrier between them because Bruce was afraid if what those idiot reporters would think back at Gotham. The rumors that would circulate around them...augh! Don't think about it!

Did he force Robin into doing this? It seems so out of character for the poor kid too. Why didn't he just make them sign a contract or something? It was bad enough that villains were popping up all over place ever since the League was created. How can he take Bruce's word that nothing bad will happen to Dick as long as he was around. Superman saw how Robin was keeping his distance from his mentor. Of how uncomfortable he seemed whenever Batman was close. His eyes started becoming hot, it was almost like he was seeing red - dear God, he was seeing red! - and then he had to cover his eyes with his large-as-frying-pan hands before the heat escaped from his eyes.

Heat vision. The one thing that couldn't be controlled well when angry. And it almost destroyed the keyboard in front of him too!

Superman closed his eyes and takes a deep breath, just like Ma taught him. Let your mind become as blank as a sheet. He could hear his own heart beat now. Pulsing like a jackhammer one minute and as slow as water dripping from a faucet in the next. There are a few things that the Man of Steel couldn't block out; like the sound of fingers clapping over the keyboard several feet to his right, and the stomping feet that was certain to belong to Batman, or the rotating blades of the blender in the kitchen going too fast for comfo- what was Flash doing in there?!

Superman stood up and started heading towards the kitchen. The sound of blades whirling have been heard before, so maybe he was overreacting. Then again, he always seemed to get more worried whenever Robin was around and not in his sight. Please let it be a normal mess instead of the alternative that was running through the Kryptonian's head right now!

He ignored the Dark Knight's demanding questions as he rushed out of the room, running one minute, then flying almost with the same grace of Diana the next. Oh dear God let this all be something silly...

* * *

"Okay. We got peanut butter for Robin's frappe, some Oreos for J'onn's, sliced bananas for Diana's, a carton of vanilla ice cream for everyone, and chocolate syrup on the side in case someone asks for it," Flash listed out loud while he placed each item mentioned into the blender, each ingredient filling up the blender even more than the last, "Are we missing something?"

"Yeah, a shield!" John answered as he created a green field around the monstrous little machine. Hawkgirl smirked at the spectacle unfolding. Green Lantern or not, watching John get into Marine-mode always amused the woman. It reminded her of the cautious officers back on Thanagar...not that she'd see it again anytime soon.

"For what?" Robin asked Flash as he helped pull out several paper cups with covers from a cabinet. He winced again as pain shot into his hand, but no one noticed this at all. The last thing he needed was to be lectured on "controlling emotions" or whatever the heck came out of their mouths.

"For when this thing explodes in Green Lantern's face again," Flash smirked at the Marine, who merely rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.

"Imagine if Batman got hit instead," Robin whispered to the Speedster, "I'd think he would die of embarrassment." Both chuckled at the thought of the Dark Knight's face if ice cream splattered every part of his outfit. Robin quickly stopped himself mid-laugh and did his best to banish those thoughts from his mind. If Batman ever found out he was thinking of ways to embarrass him...

Diana smiled as she watched the small interaction unfolding before her. It was actually kind of...cute. Flash looked at the young boy next to him when he suddenly stopped laughing and asked if he was ok. Robin simply ignored the question and continued with taking out cups for their frappes, even when there were already more than enough for everyone in the kitchen. Flash tried getting him to laugh again by telling him about what happened several minutes before the boy's presence had been found out. He even repeated the same phony French accent, finally getting the young boy to chuckle lightly.

Hawkgirl had moved herself to the top of the counter and observed the Speedster at work as he now tried getting Robin to stop taking out every paper cup he had placed back into the cupboard.

She leaned towards John who was merely standing beside her and whispered, "Not exactly how I imagined spending our day, huh?"

"You mean the kid already getting on Flash's good side? Or the fact that we're making frappes against my wishes?" John frowned at the Thanagarian.

"The kid," Hawkgirl nudged her head in Robin's direction, "Who knew Batman was a parent?"

"Well, probably excluding the Boy Scout, nobody I guess," the Marine responded, "Why did he decide to tell us at all? It's not like he needs a new babysitter or something?"

"You have a point there," Hawkgirl crossed her arms, "Since when did Mr. Part-Timer decide that his own son should come aboard the Watchtower?"

The Marine opened his mouth to respond when he heard Flash speak,

"Alright. Is everyone ready?" The Speedster asked everyone in the room, looking around to see everyone nod in unison. With the confirming nods, he flipped a switch on the wall, "Then let's get this party started!"

"I'm taking cover," Hawkgirl proceeded to walk out of the kitchen as quickly as she could, leaving John all alone with the others. If there was one thing she had learned today, it was to never stay in the kitchen when the Flash was at work. J'onn looked at the setting Flash adjusted the blender to before crying out, "Flash, no! You set it to-"

But the warning came too late as the blender went berserk, screaming and bouncing around like a maniac. Surprised, John accidentally lowered the energy field he set up, exposing everyone else to the spewing chunks of peanut butter and syrup. Hawkgirl, who had the sense to stay by the doorway, dashed out when she saw John lower his guard. Diana tried to block the projectiles with her bracelets, but they failed her; much to her shock and dismay. Robin was about to use his cape as a shield when a red blur dashed at him and dragged him out of harm's way (if ice cream could be considered harmful.) When the Flash slipped on some of the mess, he fell and covered Robin with his body, taking the majority of the attack upon himself. J'onn merely used his powers to phase through the oncoming mess that came his way.

Thinking fast, Robin moved out of Flash's protective embrace and threw what appeared to be a batarang at the switch, turning off the blender.

"-hyper-drive..." J'onn finished awkwardly when he noticed that the onslaught had ceased. Hawkgirl came back into the room and merely stood there with her mouth open in shock. John groaned, "Not again!" as he looked over his ruined (for the second time in less than ten minutes too!) uniform. Diana attempted to wipe off the mess that landed in her hair, only making it worse with each attempt. Flash merely wipe some ice cream off of his face and started licking it. Robin took one look at the Speedster and followed his example.

"Mmm," Robin licked syrup off of his gloves, "Oreo and peanut butter! Bad for clothes, but still good to eat!"

Flash looked at the now destroyed switch and then back at the kid in his lap. Even with a full-grown adult blocking him, Robin managed to hit that target perfectly...well, almost perfectly.

Who knew you were some kind of Boy Wonder?" Flash smiled at Robin, impressed with his marksmanship.

"What's with nicknames already?" Robin cried indignantly, "It's not cute!"

"I like the sound of it," Hawkgirl replied as she entered the room once more mess-free, "You're acting the part pretty well, tough guy."

"I am tough," Robin protested, but the tone he was using didn't convince anyone in the room at all. It's impossible to sound manly when you voice goes an octave higher on occasion.

"You should take it as a compliment, not as an insult," J'onn reasoned gently. Robin sighed and continued to lick his hands clean of ice cream.

"At least someone's enjoying themselves," Hawkgirl sighed, "The blender acts up again and these two are licking themselves like cats."

"You should see the cats in Gotham," Robin replied, "Bats has a soft spot for this one kitty-"

"What happened in here?" An urgent voiced cried out from the other kitchen entrance. Robin turned his head and merely smirked at the sight while he felt Flash tremble slightly at the sight of the Man of Steel looking like he was searching for a time bomb. Or maybe it was the sugar. already flowing inside of him.

"We were just making frappes," Robin replied nonchalantly, grinning as Superman's shoulders drooped down in relief. He held out an arm and jokingly said, "Want some?"

Superman smirked at the boy and said, "Thanks, but I'm not as disgusting as you are."

"That's enough," Batman's voice filled the room quickly. Robin's grin slid off quickly before the Dark Knight continued to the others, "Meet me and Superman in the conference room after you clean up this mess. No excuses. Robin!"

The person mentioned jumped at the sound of Batman's voice as the man continued speaking, "You're a mess. Stop licking yourself and clean yourself up." And with that, the World's Finest left the kitchen as quickly as they came.

"They were just making snacks, Bruce," Superman muttered into Batman's ear, "The least you can do is lighten up for Robin's sake. He looked like he was starting to have fun."

"Don't. Call. Me. That!" Batman whispered coldly, unsure if they were even out of earshot yet, "And the last thing my partner needs is sugar."

"He's your son," Superman whispered harshly, "Protecting him doesn't mean snap at him for every little mistake he makes." The Man of Steel flinched as the Dark Knight turned around and glared at him. It was the simple squinting of the eyes lightly that made the infamous "Bat-Glare" so effective in the first place.

"Yes," Batman whispered even more quietly than before in a way that made the hallway around them drop ten degrees, "He's _my_ son. Stop acting like he's yours!"

Superman stayed rooted to the spot as the Dark Knight stalked away, doing everything in his power to keep from hitting something or _someone_ in anger.

"I'll get a mop," J'onn said dryly before proceeding to phase through a wall. Robin looked on with amazement before he went to the cupboard and took out some rags. As he reached into the cupboard again, Robin grabbed his hand in pain, wincing as he felt more bruises form.

"You okay," Flash asked before dashing up to the boy and examined the hand.

"It's nothing," Robin tried to explain, "One bruise won't kill-ouch!"

Without warning, the Speedster grabbed a hold of the young hero's hand and examined it closely.

"You know, J'onn's kind of a doctor," Flash pointed out as he felt the hand gently, "Maybe he could look at it-"

"Don't worry, I've dealt with worse," Robin shrugged off the offer, "I'll have this checked up on later."

"But your hand-" Flash began before Robin interrupted him,

"Less talking, more cleaning. Now get to it."

"Excuse me Mr. Bossy Pants," the Speedster grumbled.

With the combined efforts of the Justice League (and a little help from Flash's super-speed), the kitchen was once again spotless in a matter of minutes. Robin helped out the most next to the Speedster, wiping off ice cream in places where the others couldn't reach due to their sizes. Their costumes, were another problem altogether though. Flash suggested using the sink spray before everyone vetoed that idea.

"You seem to know your way around the kitchen," Flash observed, "You Batman's cleaning maid too?"

"I am actually," Robin smirked sarcastically, "My usual cleaning uniform's back at the cave though."

"Is it French-Maid style?" Fladh smirked at Robin's small joke.

"Nah, Batman's not that crazy," Robin replied with a grin. Flash's grin relaxed slightly until Robin added in a more serious tone, "It's more of a janitor's outfit. Sometimes, he makes me dress like a butler and serve him drinks while calling him 'Master Batman' in some phony British accent."

"You're kidding!" Green Lantern's eyes widened with surprise.

"Does he really make you do that?" Diana sounded alarmed, "Hera help us!"

Robin laughed, "I'm just joking, Princess. But I really am better at cleaning than Bats is. He doesn't even know how to use the vacuum cleaner."

"He doesn't?" Flash chuckled, "So much for being the best at everything."

"He's only the best at everything that he thinks matters," Robin explained, "It doesn't help that he doesn't know the first thing about cleanliness. Between you and me, I bet he wouldn't even bathe unless he was threatened by a mutual friend of ours."

"What mutual friend?" The Speedster asked, "Superman?"

"Nah," Robin replied, "Just someone that even Supes can't control."

"How tragic," Hawkgirl pretended to whine with pity, "The Man of Steel is losing his influence over people."

"Like he hasn't already?" John raised an eyebrow. There was an incident two years ago where Superman went berserk on Earth. The worst part about it was that he was under someone else's control, someone by the name of Darkseid, an alien that ruled a planet called Apokolips with an iron fist. The Marine never met the alleged threat before, so it was hard to believe the Man of Steel's side of the story. Half of the Earth seemed to agree.

"Come on," Robin began to walk out of the kitchen, "We have a meeting to attend." J'onn proceeded to fly out of the room as soon as the boy said this. Diana followed suit while the remaining four heroes made their way out. Robin was in the lead while Flash followed behind closely. John and Hawkgirl trailed behind for a few moments before the Marine started running towards the young boy.

"Who says you're attending the meeting?" Green Lantern demanded as soon as he caught up to Robin, "It's for League members only."

"Says Batman," Robin shrugged, "Want to complain to someone, go to him."

"I will!" John replied.

"Yo Rob," Flash dashed up to the hero. Robin turned around to face the Speedster, "Just wondering something. Why is a kid like yourself hanging out with Batman for, anyways? Aside from the whole...'My dad is Batman'-thing, you know."

"I have my reasons," Robin replied vaguely.

"Like...what?" Flash asked, "Glory-seeking? Adoring fans?"

"Not those two you just mentioned," the young hero answered, "And aren't they the same thing?"

"Yes," The Speedster replied, "Alright then, if you aren't doing wither of those things, then what is it?"

Robin blushed, "I...don't really want to talk about my reasons. The only thing you need to know is that they're important to me. Nothing more." He didn't feel like adding that no matter what he said, the League would either view him as selfish or arrogant.

"How long have you been training?" J'onn slowed down so he could float alongside the young boy, who groaned as another adult began to question him. He could feel the boy's mind squirming with discomfort, uncertain on how to answer. J'onn wished to put the boy's mind at ease and added in a gentle tone, "I will not judge you or your answer in any way or form."

Robin bit his lip and frowned at the response. While it was nice that Martian Manhunter was trying to avoid coming off as intimidating, the route he took was just as demeaning, maybe even worse. It sounded like he believed Robin to be the _sensitive_ type, just like all of the other idiots at those parties. The only difference was that while the Martian didn't want to make the young hero uncomfortable or scared of responding, those damned socialites felt that anything they said to him would be able to break him so easily on the inside.

He muttered under his breath the only thing he could think of, "Two years."

"I'm sorry?" J'onn asked, "I could not hear you."

"Two years," Robin spoke a little louder this time, biting his lip as Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, even the Flash looked at him. He felt heat rush to his cheeks and glared at J'onn, "Is it that bad to you?"

"This is not a game," J'onn replied calmly, "I believe Flash wishes to know what your motivations are because he is concerned for your safety. As am I for that matter. We do not wish for you to be harmed in any way life-threatening."

"Then quit worrying about it," Robin snapped as he become more and more uncomfortable, "I didn't just spend two years learning how to punch or kick, you know. There was also hacking, learning to escape all kinds of traps, and obviously detective work stuff."

"Perhaps you should reconsider this type of work for the time being," J'onn responded before flying off, "I do not wish to offend you in any way, but...we cannot allow rookies to endanger themselves."

Robin felt his face burn again until he heard Diana call out, "That's not fair. I only started a few months before Robin."

"That was different," Green Lantern replied as he made his way past the young boy, "You showed us how well you can fight. Plus, it's hard to argue with an Amazon warrior."

"You don't need to remind us," Flash chuckled as he passed Robin as well, "I haven't forgotten the last time I got on her bad side."

Robin felt like he was standing on top of the Gotham Police Department again, with the ruffled Commissioner Gordon looking like he was going to have a heart attack, and how he felt that no one was impressed with the idea of Batman having a sidekick. Not a partner, the "s" word! He just showed these guys not even an hour ago that he could hold his own and they're still worried about Robin's safety? When he finally reached the conference room, he saw that all of the seats were filled up. All seven. Just seven. Right as he noticed this, Batman came into his view.

"Green Lantern insists you wait out here," the Dark Knight said blankly, "League members only, I'm afraid." And with that, he closed the door on Robin's face. The young hero clenched his fist and winced as pain shot up again. He leaned against the door and did his best to hear what was going on.

"Any reason we're meeting?" He heard Hawkgirl ask.

"The reason for this meeting," Batman began slowly, "Is to introduce a new member to the Justice League."

"Great," Flash must be smiling right now, "So who's joining us? Aquaman?"

"No," Batman answered.

"Good," Flash replied, "Because Aquaman-"

"Don't finish that," John said in what seems to be a warning voice.

"Who is it?" John- no wait, J'onn asked.

"Green Arrow?" Flash suggested.

"No," Batman repeated.

"Your mother?" Flash must be smirking right now.

"No! But cute," Batman was obviously glaring at the Speedster right now.

"Then who is it?" J'onn asked, his suspicions must already making the answer seem obvious.

"I think I know where this is going," Hawkgirl muttered.

Robin could almost hear a pin drop after Batman said, "Why do you think I brought Robin here?"

**So...how did I do with the writing? Any questions you have for me? Any suspicions you wish to confirm? It is just amazing to say that I mainly edited this chapter through my phone for the first time ever! I think it might be faster writing with fewer chances of distractions. Please Review! Happy Readings!**


	4. Chapter 3: Doubt

**Sorry for taking this off briefly, there was a glitch in the system that made searching for Dynamic impossible unless you go to my page directly.**

**Author's Note: **Referring to the end of the last chapter, I thought having Robin becoming a member of the Justice League would be appropriate as well as a reference to the Super Friends (which was the name of the Justice League at the time) where he was also a member of the team. Also thought it would be cool if someone were to dub Robin as "The Boy Wonder" instead of already having the nickname. The idea came to me when I read this Young Justice story on here (mumbling: wish I knew what the name was though so you could read it...) Just thought I'd share this bit of trivia with you all.

Not to mention that this is an AU, so be warned as this will eventually deviate from the original cartoon.

There is going to be a blink-and-miss reference to Batman TAS episode, Vendetta, so keep your eyes peeled.

Also, I'd like to welcome back some old readers who didn't know that this was up again. If you guys are reading this, spread the word about this story to anyone who may either be A: interested in reading AU stories or B: interested in the Justice League. Just a suggestion though :). Now let's get back to the story.

**Disclaimer: All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

* * *

_"A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyways."_

Christopher Reeve

* * *

**Chapter 3: Doubt**

It was clear to Robin that everyone in the room was silent when Batman said these words; Flash didn't seem to make any attempt to catch the Bat's bluff on the statement.

He must know that the Dark Knight was serious about what he had just said. Robin slid the door open just a crack to see Hawkgirl's face. It looked like she was considering the choices of either laughing or scowling; her face was all scrunched up like she just ate a lemon whole. It was kind of funny and horrifying at the same time.

Superman had his hands covering his face with shame or embarrassment, Robin couldn't tell. The Martian guy looked the most composed next to Diana, their expressions hardly changing at all. But there was something in the man's eyes that reminded Robin of Superman, the way they seem to be going glossed over like he was trying to block something out.

So that must mean that the Martian guy is obviously against this. Great.

John was obviously going to be the first to express disapproval, his mouth widening with each passing moment.

Robin predicted that this would happen, it was no different than last week when he was introduced to Commissioner Gordon. Words like "child endangerment" and "reckless" and even "stupid" were thrown carelessly at the boy. Not by Gordon of course; he tried to say things in a less offensive manner unlike Bullock, who just didn't know when to shut up.

Even after taking down most of Batman's rogues in one night alone didn't do much to gain the Gotham PD's trust. But even Batman reminded him later that it was dumb luck and nothing else, how he kept on bringing up what he did wrong. He left his left side open, that kick was too slow, blah blah blah. It seems like no matter how many hoops you go through, adults keep telling you that it's not good enough. Robin merely took a deep breath, closed his eyes and waited for the explosion to happen.

Three...

Two...

One.

"Are you insane?" Green Lantern was the first to speak, "It's one thing to have a sidekick-"

"Partner," Robin muttered under his breath. Both he and Batman made it clear to each other as well as to Commissioner Gordon that they were equals on the field, and yet people were still calling him the "s" word. Even the villains were treating him like a minor threat.

"-it's another thing to just bring him here and make us induct him into the League-"

"He's not making you do anything!" Robin cried indignantly, forgetting that he wasn't even supposed to be listening, but also unwilling to let the Marine say these things about his own mentor as if he was letting Robin do this willingly. He didn't even realize that he had entered into the conference room until he felt Batman's gaze burning into his head.

Rahat.

It was so hard convincing Gordon in the first place. All eyes were officially on him now but Robin continued bravely, stepping deeper into the room as he spoke, "Don't take Batman's words so seriously, sometimes he doesn't know when to either speak or shut up...no offense, by the way Bats."

He turned to face Batman with a look of regret, expecting to see a scowl on his mentor's face; only seeing his mentor shrug slightly in agreement to his protege's words. But Robin sensed that Batman felt rather offended by that statement, even he couldn't get away with saying that and not expect repercussions afterwards.

"Then precisely why are you here in the first place?" J'onn asked calmly. Robin went red, he could practically feel the Martian trying to pry into his mind. Why was he here other than the obvious fact that Batman wanted him to join this group? Robin looked at Superman, silently begging for help from his friend; unfortunately, Superman shook his head as a reply. The boy sighed, understanding that the Man of Steel wouldn't be able to help at all at this point.

"Whatever you feel is the right answer, don't be afraid to say it to us," Diana spoke gently. Robin couldn't bear to look at the Amazon straight in the eyes, feeling as if all words would fail him now. He heard someone cough and looked up to see the Flash giving an encouraging smile. It somehow made his chest loosen up the tiniest bit.

Robin took a deep breath again and spoke, "We just wanted to talk to you guys about the possibility of me joining the League. And it would be just like Batman's position, only part-time. So you wouldn't really be seeing that much of me overall. So what's the real problem?"

"You just started a week ago!" Everyone turned to Superman this time. Robin heard Batman say something that would have had Alfred shoving a bar of soap up his mouth, clearly annoyed that the Man of Steel would give his two cents about this.

"That's all the more reason for why you can't join us, kid," J'onn - just call him Green Lantern- pointed out, looking almost triumphant. "You're too young and don't have enough experience in the field."

That wasn't true! Robin has had plenty of experience before this day...there's just a big gap around the time between his time on patrol last week and...his last mission prior to last week. People come out of retirement all of the time; so what? Plus, he's been training a lot, most of it wasn't easy to do. Just because he officially began again last week doesn't make him a weakling!

"You do realize that I just kicked your butts not so long ago, right?" Robin countered. Now it was his turn to smile again. The Flash blushed at the recent memory, too proud or too ashamed to admit it out loud. Green Lantern on the other hand...

"You just caught us off guard. Its not all about luck, kid. You wouldn't last five minutes with the likes the Joker."

"I just kicked his butt last week too, in case you missed the news," Robin pointed out, "Superman even has the page on the wall in his room here!"

"He does?!" Flash turned to the Man of Steel for an answer. All he got was a subtle nod from the Kryptonian who turned to him and asked,

"How did you know about that?"

"I saw it," Robin replied in an obvious tone, "Duuuh!"

"And then there's the attitude-," Green Lantern continued before Robin interrupted him again.

"Just give me a chance to prove I can handle this," Robin pleaded, "Give me a test, have me take on a tough villain, anything!"

As Green Lantern opened his mouth to speak, the lights in the room began flashing red while an annoying beeping sound made itself known every other second, almost like a large alarm clock. Robin watched as the Dark Knight headed over to the computer, that everlasting scowl of his plastered onto his face once more. Several seconds later, the monitor screen showed a gray, bulky man busting through a wall carrying two large bags with him, with someone that looked like he was covered in scales...Killer Croc! That reptilian man was coming up behind the gray bulk of muscle. Several police officers came into view and started shooting at...whatever it was, but he merely walks through without flinching. He then starts swatting down the officers when he was close enough. The fight was over in a matter of seconds, the villains only leaving unconscious cops and a trail of money behind them.

"Solomon Grundy," Batman growled to himself. Robin looked at him with confusion.

"You talking about the nursery rhyme, boss?" Robin asked his mentor. Batman just stared at him. "You know: 'Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday-'"

Batman shook his head. "No. This monster is much different. He can't be killed and has enough strength to rival Superman."

"I'd like to see him try," Robin snorted, "You're comparing some zombie-thing with a guy that can run faster than a bullet train and has more power than a locomotive!"

"And the subtlety of one too." He heard Flash mutter quietly.

"Grundy has exactly that kind of strength," Batman glared at the young hero, "There are some things that even Superman can't beat."

"Hello?" The Man of Steel called out to the Dynamic Duo, "I'm right here. And can hear every word you're saying!"

"Then I won't have to repeat myself," the Dark Knight started heading towards the door, "Robin, we're leaving. Looks like you'll have your chance after all."

The boy smiled with utter glee while Batman addressed the others, "He's in Gotham right now. We know the city better than you, so it's best to follow our lead. Meet us at the Police Station before confronting Grundy. You take the Javelin-7, Robin and I will take the Batplane." And with that, the Dark Knight marched out of the room with Robin following close by.

When the door closed behind them, Green Lantern muttered, "Batmobile, Batarangs, Batplane, what's with naming everything he owns after himself!?"

* * *

The ride to Gotham took no more than thirty minutes, but it seemed a lot longer to Robin. Especially when the Dark Knight was constantly trying to talk to you about everything that was done wrong.

"You were supposed to wait outside," Batman growled, his face facing forward as he drove. And then the criticisms started coming forth...

Robin refuted, "I didn't hear you say not to eavesdrop-"

"How do you expect the League to trust you when you can't even follow orders?" Batman continued as if he didn't hear the young hero's response.

"Trust is a two-way street, in case you didn't notice! I need to know that I can trust them too," Robin retorted, "Plus, I was supposed to be there with you when you dropped the bomb on them."

Batman refused to look Robin's way, much like an irritated parent arguing in circles with their child and still kept talking, "The League views you as an incompetent-"

"What!?"

"-hero that's going to get himself killed-"

"I did NOT hear anyone say that about me!" Robin nearly shouted, "All I got was that they thought I was inexperienced, not...incompetent!" He nearly spat out that last word.

Batman hesitated for a few moments, his voice now a little softer when he spoke again, "That was the wrong word to say-"

"Wait a minute," Robin replied coldly as the truth dawned on him. "You think that I'm still not ready! After two years, you still doubt me."

"That isn't what I-"

"I can read between the lines better than you can, _Bruce._" Satisfied with breaking Rule #4 in the 'handbook,' Robin out of his window as a sign that he was done talking.

* * *

The Dark Knight managed to see his partner's eyes just briefly before they turned away. But that was all he needed to see. There was so much hurt in them already. So much hurt in them still. He could still hear the private conversation that he had with Superman not even half an hour ago...

_I swear on my life that I will keep Robin safe from any possible danger that I can. As both his mentor and as his father._

_You better, Bruce. Or sooner or later you won't be either any longer._

The promise to protect Robin with his life as his mentor and parent. One that he was already failing within ten minutes of making.

"You're not incompetent," Batman finally replied softly, "That was the wrong thing to say."

Robin ignored his mentor and tried to focus on the window as they entered the Earth's third layer of atmosphere. How dare he call Robin incompetent! He worked so hard for this day!

"You're strong," the Dark Knight continued in an even softer tone that Robin could barely hear now, "Stronger than anyone else I ever met in my life. I actually wish that I was there to see you take on the others like that to be honest."

Robin muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. But Batman already had an idea of what it was.

"You never say that."

* * *

The rest of the plane ride went along in very awkward silence. When they finally reached Gotham, Robin almost jumped when he felt Batman place a gentle hand on his shoulders before either one could get out of the plane. He heard the Dark Knight whisper gently into his ear,

"Don't worry about impressing the League. Just focus on getting the job done that way you usually do, okay?"

Robin only nodded. Compared to the ship ride, getting to the GCPD building was almost a blur to him. The only thing he focused on was the bat-shaped signal in the night sky. When he saw the rest of the League already waiting with Gordon, his stomach did a somersault. Great, he thought, Now I can embarrass myself in front on the Comish too!

Gordon groaned when he saw the Dark Knight come into view, "The next time you plan on bringing your friends with you, let an old man know in advance, alright?"

"Can't make any promises," Batman replied.

"Typical response," the Commissioner replied, "Thought I'd give you the heads up on the Grundy-Croc incident."

"What's the situation?" Green Lantern asked, "Hostages? Demands?"

"We...lost them," Gordon sighed with defeat.

"How can you lose sight of people like them?" Hawkgirl demanded, "They're at least ten feet tall. They stand out."

"So do the rest of the freaks in this town." A portly man walked in from the shadows. Robin felt a knot in his stomach when he saw who it was. Wearing a brown trench coat and matching hat, Detective Harvey Bullock placed a toothpick in his mouth and examined the sight among him. At least he wasn't stuffing his face with a hamburger like last time...

It was clear from Bullock's statement that he wasn't just talking about the ones who were in Gotham on a daily basis, he was looking upon the Justice League as if they were unwanted vermin that needed to be exterminated. Robin was tempted to slug that dumb pork-chop in the gut but resisted. He clenched his fists just to satisfy his anger, only to hide a wince as pain shot up his injured hand again. Flash looked his way with a concerned expression, but he didn't say a thing to the young hero.

"Bullock, this is not the time," Gordon glared a warning towards the detective, "So far, we've been getting reports of a giant, muscular man dressed in rags causing a commotion near the East End, while sightings of Killer Croc have yet to be confirmed."

"In other words?" Flash looked around, trying to find someone who could give an answer.

"The duo split up and that makes our job a lot harder," Robin sighed, "For all we know, Croc could be hiding in the sewers right now. It's like a maze in there!"

"Tell me something I don't know, Bird Boy," Bullock snorted.

"Acting like a crocodile automatically makes him smarter than you!"

"I don't see doing anything about it!"

"How about you go down to the sewers yourself?!" Robin threw back the insult, "Since you seem so determined to find Croc you big-"

Batman covered his partner's mouth before he said anything else.

"Don't dig yourself deeper," he hissed into Robin's ear.

"Then our best chance is to go after Grundy first," Superman decided, "He loves destruction, so that'll make our job easier."

"Easier for you but not the tax payers!" Bullock objected.

"Would you rather we just stand by and do nothing?" Hawkgirl raised an eyebrow at the detective, it was clear by her tone that she was tempted to do just that. Bullock simply grumbled and focused on his toothpick.

"Greed is another thing to look out for," Batman pointed out, "As dull as he is, Grundy still has the same lust for gold like any other crook in Gotham. Maybe more"

"Wait a sec!" Bullock was flustered now, almost coming off as a victim seeking closure. "What 'bout Croc?! Aren't you goin' after him?"

"He's not a concern right now," Superman replied calmly. "But Grundy is. If we go into the sewers to search for Croc, we might as well let innocent civilians get hurt."

"Some Justice League you are!" Bullock shouted as the League proceeded to fly or dash away. Robin was the last one to leave, looking back to see Gordon mouthing the words, 'Good luck,' his way. His stomach settled a little, but not a whole lot.

"So what's that guy's problem?" Flash asked Batman as they reached the ground.

"Croc tried framing Bullock for a crime a couple years back," the Dark Knight replied, "Bullock was cleared, but he never got over it."

"Our best chance to find Grundy is to split up," Superman looked everyone in the eye as he said this, "J'onn, you're with me. We'll check the East End to see if he's still there. Diana, John-"

"I thought John was going with you," Robin blurted out.

"I'm J'onn," Martian Manhunter corrected.

"He's talking about me," Green Lantern frowned at the young hero.

"I realize that now." Robin retorted dryly.

"-Green Lantern and Hawkgirl will go with Diana and check the North End," Superman continued, hoping to subvert another argument. "That leaves Flash, Batman and Robin to check the West End in case Grundy heads there."

"Take these," Batman handed out small, black squares to J'onn, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern. "They're maps of Gotham. Holographic. Since most of you don't know Gotham that well, it's better to be safe than sorry. And remember, if you spot Grundy, contact back-up immediately. Do not engage and stay on your guard!"

Robin sensed that it was aimed more towards him than the others, however, considering how Batman seemed to be looking at his partner more than the League members. As he watched the heroes fly off into different directions, Robin couldn't help but think of the word 'Incompetent' when he looked at a reflection of himself in a glass window next to him. He tried to distance himself from those worries as he began to leap from building to building, travelling "Batman-style" as Alfred would call it. But each leap, each somersault, each grapple-swing only brought more dread and worry to Robin's mind. What if he _did_ mess up? What if more people got hurt because of him?

"You know, maybe this could be a chance to get to know each other better?" Flash suggested as he dashed underneath the two heroes, his communicator in hand...or ear, Robin couldn't tell from this height.

"Now's not the time," Robin huffed, not in the talking mode. "We're on a mission."

"I'll get the wheels rolling," Flash replied, obviously ignoring the boy's objections, "My favorite color's red. What's yours?"

"So how do we know when we've found this Grundy guy?" Robin asked his mentor as they landed on another rooftop, trying to avoid answering the Speedster's question.

BOOM!

To stop himself from breaking any bones as he landed on a rooftop, Robin had to fire his grappling hook onto a lamp post and swing off of it before landing onto the another building and doing a somersault. Flash dashed up to them and stared at the Dynamic Duo in concern.

"We found him," Batman replied blankly, clearly as both a joke and an answer.

"What's going on?" The Speedster demanded. As an answer, Robin pointed to the mound of smoke piling up in the air a short distance away. Flash watched as people began running in the opposite direction they were heading. Car horns and sounds of rubble falling confirmed the trio's suspicions that their target was nearby.

Out of impulse, Flash dashed ahead of his comrades to confront the beast. Robin tried following him, but Batman grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Stay close," the Dark Knight ordered.

No sooner had he finished his sentence did the Flash come flying back, bouncing off of the pavement before hitting a wall and leaving him covered with scrapes.

"Well what do you know?" Robin observed, grinning weakly. "He _is_ the fastest man alive. No one could have lost that soon, right?"

"Shut up, Robin," Flash grumbled weakly, "Hey Bats, I could use some help here."

But before Batman could answer this, the ground started shaking as the large zombie known as Solomon Grundy came charging forth like a rhino. Gordon wasn't exaggerating when he described the monster. White as chalk and with more muscles than the Man of Steel himself. His hands alone were almost the size of small windows. And the clothes on his skin were in tatters; the shirt was too small to fit and looked like it was used for many years, the pants only reached down to Grundy's knees and were stretched tight, and it was obvious that no shoe size would ever fit Grundy's feet.

Batman jumped off the roof and glided to the ground. No sooner had he touched the concrete did he throw a batarang at the beast, only for Grundy to knock it aside like it was a mere fly in his face. But when the projectile was ten feet away from the monster, it exploded and pushed Solomon towards the Dark Knight. Robin noticed the small hole where the batarang had landed and glared at his mentor.

"What happened to the 'No Killing' rule?" Robin demanded as he made his way towards Batman, pulling out his bo staff in the process.

"There was no one nearby and Grundy is already dead," Batman countered as he literally dragged his protege away from Grundy as he charged at them, with the Flash following close by.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make it right!" Robin countered fiercely.

"You know, I really hate to interrupt the annual dialogue between two partners, but look out!" Flash cried out as a car was tossed into the air and headed towards them. Although they dodged the vehicle, the explosion that followed knocked everyone off of their feet.

Robin was the least harmed and got up quickly. He was about to throw one of his projectiles at the zombie when Batman called out,

"Do not engage! Call the others and fall back."

"But he's getting awa-"

"I don't care! Call for backup and keep your distance from Grundy," Batman interjected harshly.

Robin ignored this and threw one of his weird batarangs at the creature's back. Grundy didn't stop marching off, so Robin tried throwing a fallen brick next to his feet, hoping to attract the monster. As the chunk of rock bounced off Grundy's head, Robin smirked when the creature turned around. He started frowning again when Grundy roared and charged towards Robin. He kept on throwing more and more of his projectiles at the thing, none of them doing any noticeable damage to the creature. In desperation, Robin pulled out his bo staff and charged at the monster. He jumped like a frog and brought his weapon down on the creature. He felt his staff go BOING! as it collided with the creature's head. Just as Robin reached the ground-

WHAM!

He felt the wind cut through him like a knife before hitting the concrete, bouncing a few times. Now he was seeing triples of everything, especially three Grundys that looked more agitated then harmed. Robin stood up slowly and shook his head, ignoring the pain forming in his chest now. He paused, taking a deep breath and finding that there was no wincing from the effort. He pat the breast of his uniform, now questioning if the armor he was wearing really was made of Kevlar.

"Grundy no like boy," the zombie growled.

"Boy no like Grundy!" Robin retorted weakly.

"Stop mimicking Grundy!" Grundy seemed to whine, if a lighter growl was considered a whine at all. Robin found encouragement in that remark and continued, making a pose similar to what he saw the Flash do earlier.

"Imitation's the most sincere form of flattery." The young hero sneered before he started dashing at the bulk of muscle.

"Me no flattered!" Grundy bellowed before charging at his opponent.

Right before the two collided with one another, Robin leaped up into the air and whacked Grundy over the head with his staff. Robin heard the creature groan loudly, confidant that he did some damage this time. Robin clutched his chest as he landed, pain blossoming but not as intense the pain in his hand.

He heard people screaming and turned to see Grundy now running like a drunk towards Batman and Flash now, both still trying to get up! It was happening too fast, Robin wouldn't be able to stop Grundy in time. Everything seemed to slow down, going to frame-by-frame. Without even thinking, Robin started running towards Grundy, reaching for his utility belt for the grappling hook that he knew wouldn't be able to help in time.

He failed to be there for Batman...

He never got to apologize to Flash for his last comment towards him...

They were both going to die right now and it would be all of Robin's fault!

Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard a rope snap-

Right before the beast could reach the fallen heroes, a green bubble surrounded him, trapping him in place. The momentum failed to work as Green Lantern's ring proved too strong for Grundy to deal with, the bulk bouncing against the green barrier and hit the ground. The zombie bashed at his prison in vain, trying to break out of it. Diana and Hawkgirl then flew in and brought the Dark Knight and Speedster to their feet, letting them lean on their shoulders while they recovered. Superman came in while J'onn went towards Grundy. The Martian's eyes glowed red for a few moments before the zombie groaned and collapsed to the ground once more.

"He is incapacitated now," J'onn turned to face Superman.

"Good," the Man of Steel nodded, "We should bring him into custody now. Hawkgirl, Diana. You two keep an eye on Flash and Batman, make sure nothing happens to them. Alright?"

"Understood, Superman," Diana nodded.

As soon as the Krptonian and Martian flew off with an unconscious Grundy, flashing lights blinded Robin while voices popped up from every corner.

"Batman, is that your new sidekick?"

"Was the fight we just witnessed between the boy and Grundy just a demonstration of his abilities?"

"Do you believe that this was orchestrated from the start?"

"Is the Justice League allowing children into their group too?"

"Flash, are you making your place in Gotham now?"

"Where are Superman and that Martian Man taking Solomon Grundy?"

"Wonder Woman! What's with that outfit you're wearing? Are modest clothing not good enough for you?"

Diana made to move towards the man who asked this question, but Flash placed an arm in front of her.

"Don't listen to these idiots," Flash whispered, "They'll say anything to get a reaction from us."

While reporters surrounded the other heroes, Robin knew that he was in trouble, big time. He wanted to sink into the shadows but Batman kept a firm grip on his shoulders. They still had to find Croc first, that is unless Batman didn't fire Robin first...

"Green Lantern, is it true that you and Flash are in a relationship?"

"No comment," Green Lantern replied, though his face started to glow red.

Robin tried tuning everything out, but he could practically feel the others glaring at him with hostility as if this whole commotion was his fault. Reporters were always heartless. Reporters were hardly honest. Reporters wouldn't care whether or not the boy they were stalking already had too much to handle at the moment. At least in Gotham.

He wasn't a sidekick...

"Batman, witnesses claim to have seen you doing questionable activities with your sidekick. Can you confirm this?"

He wasn't _that_ either!

Finally having enough, Robin broke free of Batman's grip and ran through the crowd, taking small pleasure in shoving reporters to the ground rather roughly. Batman looked on with shock before crying out,

"Robin!"

Author's Note: One of the things I'm trying to do is make Batman and Robin seem as distant as the summary implies. Not to mention how other people view the Boy Wonder so far, as you saw from Bullock's and the reporters's questions. Please review as they are this story's bread and water. Also give constructive criticism in terms of how fights should go as well as any punctuation mistakes made. Happy Readings!


	5. Chapter 4: Fear of Failure

**I'm sorry that it's been a week of waiting for the next chapter, but school got in the way. Biggest adjustment to this chapter is that Fear of Failure is now one complete chapter instead of being split into two chapters like pre-reboot. I also really want to hear what you guys think about this story, and to spread the word if you can too.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: All Rights To Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. This Is A Slight AU of the Justice League Cartoon.**

**Chapter 4: Fear of Failure**

"Robin!" Batman cried out to his partner, who was pelting across the street without any sense of direction. The rest of the League was too busy trying to keep the reporters at bay that they didn't see the Dynamic Duo running off. Robin saw someone get in front of him before he heard a _click!_ and see nothing but white light for a few moments. His heart pumped faster than ever and without realizing it, Robin had punched the reporter and crushed the camera in his possession. The Dark Knight dug his heels into the ground and ran at full speed. Alfred often compared him to a jaguar on steroids and for once, Batman could see why. He barely felt the ground beneath his feet at all, and he hardly felt the need to draw breath. He inched closer and closer to Robin until he could hear the young boy's panting breath.

Robin felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder. Hard. And that one hand was strong enough to bring the young hero to a halt, his breath struggling to adapt to the change in movement. He started struggling against the grip, screaming in his mind to be released. He felt the hand let go of his shoulder, making Robin believe that the person relented until he felt his arm being pulled by that very same hand with an iron grip. Robin was so tempted to scream out loud he felt himself being pulled into someone's chest. He felt Kevlar against his cheek and thought his heart would stop.

This was not a parental hug.

"Robin," he felt Batman hiss into his ear, "Control yourself right now!" Now acting on instinct, Robin used his free hand to grab at Batman's arm and used all of his strength to throw the Dark Knight off balance. He felt his other arm become free and started running again, ignoring the flashing lights now directed towards him now. A hand grabbed at his shoulder again, but now Robin acted upon instinct and grabbed Batman's arm again.

Batman's around two-ten pounds. Robin thought in his head, the gears in his brain going almost too fast for him to handle under the stress right now. And he's probably chasing me at a speed of around 20 miles, so I'll need to time this right...

Robin latched his other arm onto Batman's and pulled with all of his might. Batman's expression went from confusion to anger to shock as he realized what his protege was doing. Robin felt the Dark Knight leave the ground and grinned with satisfaction. It pays to be a math geek sometimes. It was like Batman was just a twenty pound sack of flour now before Robin released his grip before pelting into a run again, hearing a loud THUD! as he fled from the scene.

It took all of his will to keep the memories from pouring out in that exact moment as he ran.

* * *

Green Lantern struggled to keep the crowd at bay as more reporters surrounded them, hounding question after question at them. And they were now all about Robin. How were they supposed to answer a single question when these idiots didn't bother given them a moment to speak? Flash was doing his best to keep his mouth shut throughout all of this, though he was more worried about Hawkgirl at the moment, with her hand dangerously close to her mace. The Speedster looked at Diana, noticing that her eyes were hardened, the usual twinkle in them now replaced with a cold fury that he only managed to get a glimpse of during a fight. This must really be getting to her too, huh?

Out of the corner of his eye, Flash saw Green Lantern sending out countless streams of green light from his ring that snatched all of the cameras from their owners. Flash no longer felt like he was going to have a seizure from all of the lights. At least that was one problem solved. But how were they supposed to get rid of the reporters themselves? An idea suddenly popped inside of the Speedster's head. It must have been so wrong to do that kind of thing, but options were low at the moment.

"Look!" Flash pointed in a random direction, "It's the Joker! Run for your lives!"

Annoying questions were immediately replaced by screams as everyone heard that word come out of Flash's mouth. People were pushing each other to the ground in their haste to flee, car horns honked as traffic was blocked up by the sudden change in events, even glass could be heard breaking as civilians struggled to find shelter somewhere. It was almost as if the apocalypse had come early.

Green Lantern looked at the Speedster's face as they watched the reporters pushing each other in their haste to flee. Seeing the Flash smile made the Marine ask him, "There was no Joker, was there?"

"I know that," Flash's grin grew larger as he replied, struggling hard not to break down and laugh hysterically. He pointed to the fleeing reporters and continued with, "But _they_ don't."

"Batman!" Diana noticed the Dark Knight limping towards them and flew to his aid. She struggled to keep a hold over her companion as he kept pushing the Amazon away. Finally, Batman gave in and wrapped an arm over Diana's shoulder. His head was spinning, he needed a few minutes to recover.

"Urgh," Batman held a hand to his head, "What just happened? Why did those reporters leave?"

"I scared them away," the Flash proclaimed proudly.

"How?" Batman glared.

"All it took was the word 'Joker' to come out of my mouth and those idiots just ran like rats," Flash chuckled, not noticing the expression on Batman's face while he explained, "Maybe I should do that more often-"

"You did what?" Batman pushed Diana away from him and marched over to Flash as though he wasn't injured at all. Diana tried placing a hand on the Dark Knight's shoulder to support him, but was waved off by his hand.

Flash's eyes widened with surprise, "I-I told you. All I said was that the Joker was here and-"

"Do you realize that you could have caused a mass-panic to occur?" Batman whispered harshly into Flash's ear, his voice now more like fingernails on a chalkboard, "Do you know what happens when a mass-panic happens? People are pushed and even crushed to death by stampeding feet. _I_ was almost one of those people!"

Flash felt as though he was staring into the eyes of a snake, and that any sign of movement would result in attack.

"You may think that you were helping," Batman hissed, "But you could have made things a lot worse!"

Courage suddenly flowed back into Flash's body. He stood much straighter than he did two seconds ago and returned Batman's stare with less intensity. There was no way that he was going to stoop down to his level and use intimidation as a weapon!

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Flash objected, "Just sit there while they kept surrounding us? And didn't you hear them ask about Robin? How harsh those questions were?"

"What people say about Robin is his business," Green Lantern snapped as he walked towards the arguing heroes, "So the next time you feel like butting in, then don't! You'll only make it worse."

"I didn't see you defending Rob from all of those reporters!" Flash retorted.

"That's because I was trying to keep them all from surrounding us!" Green Lantern barked.

"Speaking of Robin," Hawkgirl looked all around the area for a sign of a red and green costumed character, "Where is our 'beloved' Boy Wonder?"

Batman's eyes widened beneath the cowl as the memory came back to him. And with it came back all of the anger and frustration that was making his blood boil. He whispered, possibly to himself, "He ran off."

"I'll go find him," Flash quickly volunteered. Batman grabbed him by the shoulder and glared into the Speedster's face.

"You don't know Gotham like I do," he hissed, "You'll get yourself killed!"

"You're one to talk," Flash grinned, "This is the Fastest Man Alive you're talking to. If anyone's going to get killed, it's you in your condition."

"It's just a few bruises," Batman replied nonchalantly, "I'll be alright. _You_ on the other-"

"Have a faster healing rate than most humans," Flash finished Batman's sentence for him before gently freeing himself from the man's grip. Batman still glowered at the Speedster, but Flash noticed something in his eyes. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul; and if Flash was correct, then was Batman actually...worried? He was acting more agitated than usual. Flash placed a hand on the Dark Knight's shoulder and gently smiled, "Don't worry, I'll find Rob and we can get back to finding Croc. Trust me, the Boy Wonder will be back by your side in five minutes."

"I'll be timing you then," Batman glared, clearly taking the Speedster's word seriously instead as a small joke. Flash didn't seem to mind this and squeezed the man's shoulder in reassurance before disappearing in a blur. Batman's heart still wasn't soothed by the Speedster's comforting grin.

He wasn't worrying. Worrying only distracted you.

* * *

Robin pelted through the streets of Gotham with no destination in mind. All he wanted was to gain as much distance between him and the others as possible. But it wasn't saying much, considering how this was Gotham and that Batman knew the city like the back of his hand. If the Batmobile was with the Dark Knight, he'd find Robin in no time at all. As Robin ran even faster, he felt glass crunch underneath his feet, feeling thankful for his thick boots. They were a bit on the heavy side, but they protected his feet better than those *shudders* pixie boots. This was a stupid idea from the start and Robin knew it! Why did he decide to go against better judgement and play "Superhero" again?

More glass breaks underneath him, his boots protect his feet from any harm that might have come. Women in short shorts crowded together in groups...must be getting close to the East End already, they're wearing too much make-up...It's obvious Batman's going to fire him for good, or worse...Robin can almost see Gordon's look of disappointment, that stupid sneer on Bullock's face with that big cigar in his mouth. People he can't recognize, pointing at him and laughing mercilessly. Two other people almost died because of him just now. Two heroes. He wasn't a hero at all, he was a failure.

How could he have broken a promise he made to himself so easily? Never again, he swore. Maybe it would have been easier if he swore on a stack of Bibles. There were so many nightmares during that time...Robin tripped and fell onto the pavement, his legs jiggling like jelly. The memories...they were coming back...He crawled into an alleyway, away from sight as visions started forming in his head...

He could still see the expression on Batman's face as he got out of the Batmobile that night, giving Robin a warning glare all the while...

_"Robin, _stay here._"_

A trap carefully laid out...Batman's unconscious on the ground. _His_...face grinning at him like a clown, only scarier. It all happened so fast...Ropes cutting into his wrists as a cold hand grabs his chin...

_"So, Batman has an assistant now?"_

Ropes threatening to snap...too thin to hold...two bodies being held up by their necks...

_"Heads or Tails, Birdboy."_

A coin is tossed into the air...bones crunch like before...Ropes snap just like so long ago...

_"Dick!"_

_"Mommy!"_

Batman's face, white with fury, grabbing him by the collar. He could still feel the spit flying out of his mouth, he thought that foam would start foaming out of it too.

_"Because of you, Two-Face escaped and an innocent civilian is dead!"_

BANG! A body crumples onto the ground...Maniacal laughter fills the air.

The stupid cigarette in the porky mouth, his eyes leering down at him...

_"I don't know, Commish. The Bat's one thing, but the kid? Must be a joke..."_

His own veiled anger as he pointed a finger at Flash back at the Watchtower...

_"_He _thinks that I'm a joke."_

Images that never came to mind before flow in like water in a river. A man with gray hair with white flecks starting to form, frowning...

_"Master Dick, is this some kind of joke?"_

Superman's face appeared like smoke, filled with anger that he never wanted to see on that wonderful man's face. Anger that was directed at him too...

_"This is child endangerment. This idea is just stupid-"_

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Peace and quiet.

He needed peace and quiet! But he could hear _everything!_ The loud giggles on the streets, moans of pleasure coming out of a window right above him, car horns honking like no tomorrow. Someone was probably trying to steal tires and set off the alarms by accident.

His chest rose up and down in a fast motion. It felt like a hammer was banging on the inside of his chest. Banging harder and faster with each passing second. His breathing started becoming more rapid, Robin squeezes his eyes shut in hopes of blocking out any more of the memories. This wasn't how a hero was supposed to act, Batman always referred to them as soldiers in a war. And soldiers _never_ show emotion.

_"Emotions are a weakness!"_

He was so weak...

His breathing became harder and harder, sweat beading around his face. Robin noticed how much his hands were shaking already, it was like he had just woken from another bad dream. Robin tried stuffing his hands into his armpits, but winced as his injured hand acted up again. But he could hold out for a couple of hours. Alfred could take care of it in a heartbeat, like he always does.

As he continued to look down at his hand, Robin noticed a shadow before him. It was growing larger and larger and larger, it resembled a person. One of the dark shadow's arms was reaching inside of its body, like it was looking for a gun-

ZOOM!

BAM!

Robin jumped at the sound of a gun going off and turned around to see a taller shadow standing before him. He reached for his utility belt, but stopped when the figure moved closer to reveal a familiar red face with lightning bolts on both sides of their head...

"Flash?" Robin prayed to God that his voice didn't just crack right then and there.

"I'm not Flash" The Speedster grinned as he held up a small bullet shell in his hand, "_I'm_ Santa Claus. Can't you tell from my red suit?"

Robin felt his lips tug upward as he remembered the conversation back on the Watchtower. He saw a man crumpled to the ground with a large bump forming on his head. A gun was several inches away, smoke still escaping from the tip. Robin looked up at the Speedster, silently demanding an explanation.

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't tell when someone's sneaking up on you," Flash shrugged in reply, picking up the gun as he spoke. He held it in both of his hands for a few moments before they became nothing but streaks of red as wind started blowing around for no apparent reason. The sounds of metal hitting concrete replaced the sudden wind. Robin looked down at the pieces and realized that they all made up the gun itself. He looked at the Speedster incredulously, who continued to speak, "Besides, the others want you to come back. We still have Croc to find, you know."

Robin snorted, "Like _you_ know anything about Killer Croc."

"Well I know that you know Croc," Flash pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Robin rolled his eyes while the Speedster ranted, "And I also know that Batman is going to kill me if I return empty-handed in-"

Flash stopped for a moment and counted his fingers rapidly before he finished his statement, "Two minutes, thirty-three and three quarters of a second."

Robin raised an eyebrow in confusion, trying to put together what the Speedster was trying to tell him. But all that he could say was, "What?"

Flash took a deep breath and spoke very quickly, "IpromisedhimthatIwouldbringyoubackinfiveminutesanditsalreadybeenthreesoletsgo!"

"Flash, slow down!" Robin almost thought he was hearing gibberish, the Speedster was going too fast for him to follow, "Could you say that again?

"SorryItalkreallyfastwhenIgetexcited," Flash sounded more a lot like a tape-recorder going into fast-forward mode than an actual person.

"Repeat what you said," Robin was starting to get a headache now, "Say the first thing again. _Slowly _this time."

"Whoops," Flash chuckled, "I forgot I was talking too fast. I said that I promised to get you back to Batman in five minutes and your old man's keeping count."

"Whoopee for him," Robin muttered under his breath. Flash heard this and felt a wave of sympathy for the young hero. He sat down on the ground, wincing as he felt pebbles underneath his seat. He looked at Robin and patted the ground next to him. He waited until the boy had placed himself next to the Speedster before beginning.

"So why did you run off?" The Speedster asked Robin. He held up a hand as the young hero opened his mouth and warned, "And don't lie to me. Believe me, I'll know."

"You a mind-reader or something?" Robin snorted.

"More like a people-person, but mind-reader's also good," Flash chuckled at his own joke.

Robin swallowed, how was he supposed to explain this? He looked down at his hands, then at the ground in front of him. Robin cleared his throat before speaking, "When I thought Grundy was going to crush you and Batman...All I could think was that it was all going to be my fault. It just got worse when the others came and those reporters surrounded us...and started asking all of those horrible questions...And...the way Batman was looking at me..." His voice trailed off.

"How was Batman looking at you?" Flash asked gently, "With disappointment? Concern?"

"With anger," Robin replied quietly.

Flash frowned, "You know, I've heard of kids being over dramatic, but this takes the cake!"

"You've known Batman for months!" Robin snapped, "_I've_ known him for _years!_ Now who sounds like they know what they're talking about?"

The Speedster blinked. He was right. How much did the Flash know about Batman aside from being intimidating and a loner?

"I'm sorry," Robin muttered quietly, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"No worries," Flash replied, "So what about Batman looking at you?"

"It was more like he was _glaring_ at me," Robin whispered, as if he hadn't stopped telling the story, "I knew what was going to happen next. He was going to fire me."

"So you screwed up _once_, big deal!" Flash rolled his eyes, "I make them all the time and no one threatens to fire me."

"That's different," Robin replied, "You're in the clear 'cause you're an adult. And you don't work under Batman. Disobeying orders is not an option when working with the Dark Knight. You either obey them down to the last letter, or you're fired on the spot."

"Harsh," Flash looked sympathetic now, "But he's probably calmed down enough to re-think that, sooo-"

Flash pushed himself off of the ground and held out a hand to the young hero, but Robin pushed himself off of the ground, wincing as pain shot up to his hand again. The young hero tried to hide it from the Speedster, but ended up yelping even louder when he used both hands to lean against a wall. The Speedster was at his side in an instant.

"I'm telling you J'onn can fix that up in a jiffy," Flash insisted.

"And _I am _telling you-," Robin began in a frustrated tone.

"_I'm_ _nooot gooinng_," the Speedster cut him off in a sing-song voice. Robin gave him this look that scream _'Are you crazy?'_ Flash muttered, "Okay, so you've never seen _Dreamgirls_. Guess that makes me the only nerd right now."

"Amusing," Robin frowned, "I'm fine."

"Well _I'm_ worried,_" _Flash retorted.

"That J'onn guy is worried. You're worried. And don't get me started on Superman," Robin snapped, "Just quit worrying so much! Seriously, I've dealt with worse things on patrol."

"You're a kid, of course I'm gonna wor-," Flash stopped in mid-sentence. He looked at Robin with suspicion now, "Wait a minute...what do you mean 'dealt with worse things on patrol?' Didn't Supes say you started around a week ago?"

The young hero felt his face becoming cold and tried to retract his statement, "Tha-that's not what I meant-"

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Flash insisted. Robin shook his head in response, though his face became more and more ashen. The Speedster frowned, "Come on, Rob. Tell me."

"Oh sure," Robin replied sarcastically, "An adult wants a kid in Gotham to open up to them...adorable. I meant I already dealt with the likes of Joker and the Penguin."

"Then why're you as white as a ghost?" The Speedster demanded.

"You have no idea how easily a statement can be taken out of context, do you?" Robin frowned, "Can you just leave me alone please?"

"I think the term you're looking for is 'could I leave you alone.' I _can_ leave you alone," Flash explained, "But _could_ I?"

"Fine," Robin huffed, "_Could_ you leave me alone, please?"

Flash sighed, "Alright. How 'bout you get on the Flash Express and I help you with Bats?"

"If you mean you give an eleven year-old a piggyback ride then the answer is no," Robin glared. The expression softened a little as he spoke again, "But if you're offering to...help me, then I'm okay with that. Can-no, wait-_could_ we just take the long way or something?"

"You're asking the Fastest Man Alive to slow down?" Flash looked at Robin like he just asked for a flying car. Seeing the young hero's face falter even further made the Speedster relent, "Okay, okay. But you are _so_ paying me back for this later." Right as he said this, a loud ringing came through his earpiece. Flash winced at the noise and looked at Robin, "Could you give me a moment please?" Robin shrugged in reply.

Flash gave a quick smile and pressed the communicator. And then he realized what this was about.

Five minutes had already passed a while ago.

* * *

"Flash? Flash, talk to me!" Batman barked into his communicator, "Where are you?"

Flash's chipper voice responded through the com. link, "Hey Bats, I found Robin."

"Then why aren't you two back yet?" The Dark Knight demanded, his voice growing louder and angrier by the second, "You said you'd be back in five minutes and it's already been twenty. Where are you?"

"Well, uh, thing is Batman, Robin...wants to take the...long way back," Flash's voice now sounded more leveled, uncomfortable even. The Speedster could actually _hear_ Batman's nostrils flaring. He should have expected this sort of reaction from a man with a hair trigger temper. Flash continued slowly, "So uh...how's the search for Mr. Alligator coming along?"

"I'm going to talk to Robin now," Batman ignored the question from the other line and pulled out a communicator from his utility belt, "You can hang up now."

"You know, he's right next to me," Flash spoke through the other line in an exasperated tone, "You can just tell me what to say and let me do the rest."

"I can also hear you," Robin raised his voice to let Batman hear him on the other line, "Kind of easy to do when you scream like a banshee-"

"Robin, zip it!" Flash clamped his hand over the young hero's mouth, "You're probably on thin ice right now, don't make it worse!"

Robin jumped with surprise, "Oh!"

"What is it?" Flash asked.

"Something in my utility belt's going off," Robin muttered as he started search through the pockets. He looked up when he found his communicator and saw that Flash was grinning. Robin frowned, "You know what I meant."

"I sure did," Flash grinned, "Let me know if your, ahem, utility belt goes off so I'll be ready."

Robin rolled his eyes as he flipped his communicator open and held it to his ear. Batman growled into it...loudly, "Batman to Robin. Batman to Robin. Do you read me? Over."

"Robin to Batman here. What is it?" The young hero sighed on the other line. He already knew what his mentor was going to say. But it didn't make it any better though.

"You are to come back here this instant, young man!" Batman barked to the communicator, his grip around the device now dangerously strong.

"Look, I'm sorry I ran off like that, Batman," Robin's voice on the other line sounded weary, "I-"

"There's no time to talk about it right now," Batman interjected, "Just meet us in the sewers over at the East End."

"Is...that it?" Robin asked tentatively.

"No," Batman hissed, "That's not it. What did we agree on?"

"...No giving away our identities?" Robin guessed hopefully.

"When I give you an order, you _obey_ it!" Batman barked.

"Would you keep it down?" Robin heard Hawkgirl's shrill and accented voice faintly on the other line, "You'll wake up half the city like that!"

"My most _sincerest _apologies, Hawkgirl," Batman's voice lowered down a few decimals, with a hint of sarcasm beneath it. He growled into the communicator again, directing his attention to the young hero on the other line, "That's Strike One. Two more and you're out!"

"Fine, I won't do it again," Robin huffed, "Robin out." He slammed the communicator shut tightly and stuffed it back into his utility belt.

* * *

"Robin, wait!" Batman cried out, "Where are you?" But the only thing he could hear now was static. The Dark Knight groaned and pressed on the communicator in his ear, "J'onn, I need you to locate Robin. Can you do that?"

"I will see what I can do," J'onn's voice came through. Several moments later, an audible cry of shock could be heard on the other line.

"J'onn, what's wrong?" Diana heard the sharp cry and turned on her communicator as well, "Are you hurt?"

"I cannot sense Robin," J'onn gasped, "He is keeping me out of his mind. Every time I try to reach out to him, he is blocking me out. My head feels like its going to split. The defenses around the boy's mind are...remarkably thorough!"

"Then find out where Flash is," Batman replied. Several moments later, J'onn's voice returned,

"When I located Flash, he gave me an image of a street sign. It was vandalized, so I couldn't make out the actual street name."

"What did you see then?" Batman asked.

"The graffiti spelled out 'Crime Alley.'"

Batman's face went rigid. He clenched his fists tightly as the sound of gunshots that only he could hear bounced around in his head. Pearls scattered across the ground, he could see a boy's face going from horror to grief to utter emptiness. He was all alone now, not even the blanket now draped over his body could keep the cold out of his heart, the noises in the background becoming louder and more indistinguishable. There was no one, not even poor Alfred or Leslie, that could possibly-

"Batman, are you still there?" J'onn's voice filtered in, concern hidden within the words he spoke.

Batman took a deep breath and responded, "I'm fine."

"Is Crime Alley a dangerous place?" J'onn questioned.

"They're almost there," Batman ignored the question, "Tell Superman to stay with Grundy until he's secured. That will be all. Batman out."

"Well I'll be darned," Green Lantern began once Batman ended the transmission, "Looks like you taught that Boy Wonder of yours too well."

Batman's expression was blank as he stared at the Marine, "If you're implying that I taught my own son how to keep other people out of his head, then you'd be giving me too much credit. I'm just as surprised as you all are."

Green Lantern's eyes widened, "You're telling _me_ that a little kid-"

"He's eleven," Batman cut him off.

"Whatever," Green Lantern huffed, "You're telling me that an eleven year old kid knows something you don't know?"

"I never said that," Batman growled.

"Are you alright, Batman?" Diana asked her teammate nervously, "You seem more...tense than usual."

"I'm fine," Batman replied coolly.

"If you're concerned about Robin, then don't be," the Amazon looked at Batman's clenched fists and smiled gently, "He's with the Flash. He'll keep Robin safe no matter what."

"I'm not worried," Batman growled, "I'm frustrated that Robin went off against orders."

"You are such a bad liar, Batman," Green Lantern smirked, "No offense."

"Does it look like I'm lying?" Batman's voice became a deadly whisper.

"Look," Green Lantern frowned, hardly flinching at the tone thrown in his direction, "You're trying to convince a former Marine that you're not worried about your kid. When I was a kid, my dad would be tearing his hair out if I was late coming home. The moment I entered the house, he was all over me and put me over his knee. He was stern, but he let me know that he cared. Believe me, I know a worried parent when I see one."

Batman pretended not to hear the Marine, "Come on, I know a shortcut that can get us to the sewers faster."

Hawkgirl smirked, "So lead the way, Daddybats."

The look on Batman's face wiped the grin off of the Thanagarian faster than the Flash could run. The Dark Knight growled, "Don't ever. Call me that. _Again._"

"Daddybats?" Green Lantern whispered into Hawkgirl's ear.

"It's pretty obvious," Hawkgirl whispered back.

* * *

Walking was never an option in Gotham. Especially at night. You either went on a vehicle or ran like no tomorrow. But you never walked. And yet Robin was doing exactly that. And with the _Fastest Man Alive_ too. How ironic could this situation get? He was thankful that nothing happened yet, but it was just so quiet. It was just like another patrol with no talking whatsoever, except from Batman when he gave an order. Robin was never allowed to talk, or even cough if that day ever came.

"Did you suddenly become a mute in the past ten minutes or am I just bad company?" Flash inquired.

Robin looked up and shook his head, "No, I just don't really talk on patrol."

"Technically we're on a mission," Flash pointed out, "And that's _completely_ different. And you're with me, so you can talk till the cows come home if you'd like." That brought a smile onto Robin's face.

"Okay then. So what's it like in Central City?" Robin inquired as he and Flash continued walking, "Well you know, aside from having fewer loons on the street."

"Let's see here," Flash pondered, "Well it's cleaner for one thing. And the police are friendlier too. Actually pals with most of them."

"They probably don't see as much action as they used to," Robin suggested, "The guys in this city are a little paranoid. Or lazy, give or take."

"Central City also has this burger joint with an All-You-Can-Eat bar every other Tuesday," Flash added, "I'm always the first in line...also the last one too. Man, the burgers are just so good they should be outlawed."

"If that burger place was here, then it would be," Robin smirked, "You'd be amazed what people might put in those patties. Like in this musical called _Sweeney_ _Todd_, the main characters make these meat pies out of-"

"You saw _Sweeney Todd_?" Flash squealed with excitement, "I love that musical! It's so freaky awesome. _Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd_." He broke into song right then and there.

"_He served a dark and avengeful god!_" Robin joined in with his own voice.

_"What happened then, well that's the play and he wouldn't want us to give it away_," now both heroes joined in a melodic duet together before they burst out into laughter.

"WOULD YOU TWO NUTCASES SHUT THE **** UP? PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" A man opened a window and yelled loudly, his face already a deep shade of purple.

"Stinks for you then!" Robin called back to the man as he closed the window, "You're making more noise than the two of us combined; why don't _you_ shut up!"

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Flash whispered quietly now, "It feels like we're going around in circles."

"Don't worry," Robin reassured his companion, "We're near the East End all right. The dirtier the buildings get, the closer we are."

"That doesn't sound reassuring," Flash grimaced, "They all look dirty to me."

Robin replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry, you'll get used to this place."

"I don't think I will," the Speedster frowned, "I don't even think _you're_ used to being in a dump like this."

"Gotham has its perks. There are good charities, the Gotham Knights' games are great to watch," the young hero listed out loud, "The nightlife is kind of where most of the action happens, though. I bet most of the crooks we face just put on a costume so to get a little attention once in a while."

"What about you?" Flash asked.

"What about me what?" Robin turned to the Speedster with a pensive look on his face.

"You never really told me why you wear a cape and mask like old Batsy does," Flash smirked, "Is it for the same reason like these guys you just described to me? Or are you just trying to get your dad's attention for a change?"

"I'm definitely _not_ trying to get his attention," Robin glared.

"Sure looks like it," Flash sneered, "Why else would he be annoyed?"

"Because he's _Batman_," Robin retorted as if that were a good-enough answer, "Batman was- and still is -completely against me dressing in tights. It's suffocating me, to be honest!"

"Parents tend to do that with their kids," Flash tried reasoning, "I mean, I have an uncle who-"

"That's nice from their perspective, but do they ever think about how the kids are seeing the reactions?" Robin didn't seem to hear the Speedster at all and know seemed to be venting, "All I ever see with Batman is a whole lot of disappointment. It's like he views me as a failure."

"You know what?" Flash decided, "Forget I asked in the first place."

"Thanks," Robin muttered, "Sorry about that little outbur-"

"Alright Robin, first off, stop saying you're sorry so much," Flash stopped him in mid-sentence, "Second off; if you're so stressed about Batman's behavior, why don't you talk to him about it? You know, like a son _should_ do with their dad?"

"Because this is Batman we're talking about first off," Robin answered, "And second off, how _do_ I have a conversation with him. I mean, it's easier with Superman because we've known each other for years, but its almost impossible for me to even understand Batman outside of costume."

"It's called 'trying,' Robin," Flash explained gently, "You both just have to make an effort."

The two continued walking for a couple of minutes in silence, aside from the occasional police siren or screeching car. Flash kept on looking over his shoulders every time he heard a noise. Robin simply ignored them like they were just natural things to be heard.

When other people came into view, Robin suddenly grabbed Flash's hand and gripped it tight. The Speedster was confused for a few moments before he saw the other people up close. Aromas of smoke and sweat now filled the air.

"What gives?" Flash asked as Robin clutched onto his arm like a lifeline.

"We're in the East End now," Robin replied, "Stay close." It sounded more like a plea than a piece of advice.

Some of them were women dressed in short skirts and wore a lot of make-up. There were men grinning at these women, some pulling out dollar bills and dragging several of the women off, and some even grinned at Robin menacingly.

"Hey there, little boy," one of the men called out to him, "I have this puppy in my apartment. Want to see it?"

"How about you ditch your buddy and hang out with us," another man started walking towards Robin, "We can show you a _real_ good time."

"Want to leave my pal alone before I make you _whimper_ like a puppy!?" Flash raised his free fist threateningly.

The man looked at the Speedster as though he were sizing him up before he burst out into laughter. His other friends started to join in too before they saw him being punch and fly straight into a wall. Then they saw Flash glare at them with an angry glint in his eyes and scurried away like rats. Flash squeezed the young boy's hand in reassurance, whispering, "You're with me, remember? Nothing's going happen to you, Rob. You're completely safe." Robin smile weakly in gratitude.

It was actually strange to Flash overall. It feels like it hasn't even been two hours when neither one of them could stand the other's presence and now Robin was holding onto his hand like a little child would. Robin's grip seemed to slacken a bit as the people they saw became fewer and less atrocious looking.

"So how long until we reach the sewer?" Flash asked as soon as he felt Robin's hand pull away from his own.

"You're standing right on top of an entrance," Robin replied. The Speedster looked down and saw that his feet were on top of a metal circle with the word **GOTHAM** **SEWER** engraved into the piece.

"Guess that means we wait now?" Flash questioned Robin.

"Beats getting another strike with Batman, I guess," Robin sighed.

**To Be Continued...**

**In case you're wondering, Batman does run around 20-22 miles per hour. I did a little research on this while writing this chapter, and it makes sense because Batman trained himself to peak condition.**

**Also, the duet between Robin and Flash just came to me while I was writing this. I really enjoy Sweeney Todd even though I haven't finished the second act online yet. I thought that that duet would be able to show Robin's fun side a little easier, albeit, if it is on a dark musical. Trying to create the chemistry between these two characters has been a little difficult because I don't want to show them bonding instantly. Character development is a big thing in this story and I don't want to screw it up. **

**This has been a rather long chapter and I think that this should be the average length of each chapter from now on. I got the idea from reading Forgotten Bonds (great story by the way) and thought it was great for showing character personalities. Plus, it was also a Dick centric story, so check it out when you get the chance. The author's name is Anthezar in case that helps. If I were to write chapters this long, does that mean that I should post once or twice every week? Please let me know in the comments.**


	6. Chapter 5: Downtown Rumble

**Hello everyone. I am so sorry it took so long to update, it was this chapter that was keeping me from progressing because I've noticed several plot holes in this chapter that needed resolving. Not to mention that this needs to be longer (1k per chapter shouldn't suffice in this kind of story, there needs to be a lot of plot.) I've read a few stories where the author does their best to write lengthy chapters while making them entertaining without drifting away from the story. Trust me, there is a real plot in this tale, the next chapter will give you a small sense of what is it I'm sure.**

**Now that I'm done for the year with college, this should be a great way of celebrating by FINALLY updating the story.**

**Also, thank you to those who have let me know that they've been reading this, it meant a lot to hear someone's thoughts after so many weeks of silence with this story. Please promise me you'll do your part to comment or critique because I'll be able to write this better with more motivation behind it. **

**Sora Tsuiki, I want to personally thank you for your help and encouragement as I would be lost without your insight on the characters. I'm really glad that they're coming off the way that they should.**

**I'd also like to thank my best friend who is also a writer for helping me solve one of the biggest problems in this story and for getting hooked onto this story too. Really look forward to hearing your reactions as the story progresses.**

**Lastly, I'd like to thank Anthezar for giving me some critique on the first chapter in this story. I was really touched by your words and hope that you look forward to reading more of this story. I'll try to be more careful with length as it will be the cause of publishing delays.**

**This has got to be one of my least favorite chapters to write because it was so difficult with all of the details to be aware of while writing it. If there is one thing that takes the fun out of writing a good story, it's working on certain areas where the plot just seems bland. But please let me know if I'm wrong or what I could do to fix it.**

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Warning as this is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon. **

* * *

**Chapter 5: Downtown Rumble**

The Man of Steel twitched in his seat as the noises around him buzzed too much in his ears. Rao, how he hated getting headaches! That was one of the few things that he failed at being invulnerable to. Super-hearing wasn't always a great thing to have. There were too many things being said and most of them were uncharitable. Lois would _give_ for something like this though, the things she'd be able to pick up. And in a _police station _too! Now that would be press-gold right there. It was starting to get to him, it was almost as if he were in kindergarten again. All of those noises bouncing around in such a large building and he had thought that he was losing his mind. He had several meltdowns and it usually resulted in either Ma or Pa coming to pick him up where Clark would calm down.

_Take deep breaths Clark. _The Man of Steel imagined Pa's voice inside of his head. _Don't let the world get to you. Focus on your breathing and let everything zone out._ The noises started dying down, becoming nothing but whispers now. The whispers were now fading away like the wind at the end of a storm, turning into nothingness. Everything was becoming quieter now, absolutely qui-

"Superman, are you there?" The Dark Knight's voice filtered through the Kryptonian's communicator, agitation clearly seeping in the man's voice. Superman jumped in his seat, the sounds of crunched wood confirmed that he just put too much pressure onto the bench. The thin police officer that was sitting right next to the Man of Steel paled and scooted closer to J'onn, who was keeping his eyes on the half-dazed Grundy bound up in chains. "You and J'onn should have been back by now! What's keeping you?"

"The Gotham PD, that's what." Superman groaned as he replied into his earpiece. "Apparently, the Red Triangle Gang was caught attempting an armed robbery. No causalities, by the way." The Kryptonian added before Batman could reply. "The police intervened before anything got exciting."

"So the police managed to do something right for a change? Must be a full moon..." Superman swallowed down a snort of laughter at hearing Batman's small joke. Just because the Gotham PD was more cautious than in other cities didn't exactly make them more competent. Anything that would have been done correctly would be plausible through luck or if Commissioner Gordon was involved.

"Funny story about it actually-" Superman started before the harsh voice on the other line cut him off.

"Why should that tidbit be the reason you're taking so long then?"

Superman sighed. "Some pencil-pushed thought that the Red Triangle Gang was a higher priority than the likes of Grundy. So know J'onn and I are stuck waiting with several officers until we get the clear."

"That is unacceptable." Batman growled into the ear-piece. "We're going after Croc now and the last thing we need is for two members who can either see through walls or read minds to be busy."

"What is wrong, Superman?" J'onn asked the Kryptonian with his eyes still focused on the bulky zombie.

"Batman." Superman sighed. ""He wants us back now."

"Go." The Martian replied gently. "I will handle things from here. If Grundy wakes up, then I can take care of it."

"I'd prefer if you rejoined the others." Superman shook his head. "They'll need your powers more than mine. You know what Grundy is capable of, J'onn."

"And you also know what _I _am capable of too." J'onn replied dryly. Superman blinked; this was the first time J'onn ever bragged about his abilities. "There shouldn't be a problem at all then."

Superman wasn't about to let J'onn get the last say in who went. "There is if a fire breaks out-"

"_Either _one of you, just _get your butt over here!_" Batman growled more dangerously than ever before. "We don't have all night. Robin already ran off and now we're down to four people-"

Superman's throat suddenly tensed up and became dry. "Where's Robin?" He asked quietly. Superman swallowed several times, trying to loosen up his mouth, but the clamping sensation in his throat didn't loosen up one bit.

"With the Flash." Batman replied, his tone still a dangerous growl, as if the idea of being with Flash was also dangerous. "They're at the East End, keeping a lookout on one of Croc's escape routes."

Superman's throat loosened up slightly-nothing bad happened yet. Although he still wished the young boy were with him, at least he was able to breathe properly again. How long would the kid last under Flash's supervision? Rao knows he doesn't want to find out. "I suppose I'd better get going then-"

BAM!

Superman felt his body fly across the room from the unsuspected blow. So much for blocking out noises. The headache returned as he crashed through several walls in the GCPD. Any normal man would have been put into a body cast for several months, but this was nothing but cardboard to the Kryptonian.

"Grundy hate bench! Bench too hard!" The Kryptonian heard the zombie growl. He looked up to see the pale officer quivering on the spot, struggling to keep his gun pointed straight at Grundy. The zombie loomed over the poor man, his expression shifting from anger to confusion.

"St-stay back." The officer stuttered. "I'm armed."

Grundy looked at the pistol pointed at him and then to the officer wielding it and smiled. "And Grundy is Grundy." The officer stopped shuddering and blankly started at the zombie. His lower lip started twitching a little before he began chuckling quietly, all the while growing louder and louder.

"What make Armed laugh?" Grundy scratched his head like a child. _Armed_'s lips twitch even more. "Did Grundy say something funny?" This finally pushed 'Armed" over the edge, his body crouched over in laughter, his pale face turning a bright pink.

"Guys. You've got to check this idiot out." The officer laughed louder than before. "He thinks my name's _Armed_." Superman inwardly groaned at the man's reckless comment; didn't he know who he was offending?!

Grundy blinked for a few moments as the officer's words sunk in, his face going from confused to hurt to angry to furious. He gritted his teeth together and swat the pistol out of the officer's arm as if it were a fly.

Grundy grabbed the stunned officer by the front of his shirt and growled dangerously into his face. "Grundy no idiot!"

Thinking fast, Superman started flying towards Grundy when J'onn flew in and freed the officer from Grundy's grasp. He blocked an oncoming blow and started shaking. His green skin rippled like water until it became larger and started thickening. His face started becoming larger and wider. Soon, what used to be J'onn now turned into a ten-foot reptilian monster with thick scales and a bulky physique. Grundy threw a punch at the Martian, only for it to be blocked by one of J'onn's thicker arms. J'onn threw his other arm at the beast, only to have it blocked by Grundy's free arm. The Martian was thrown across the room, crashing through the wall.

Superman picked himself off of the ground and flew towards the zombie, crashing into the beast before anyone got hurt. As he restrained Grundy, Superman shouted in J'onn's direction.

"J'onn, evacuate these people and get out of here! I'll take care of Grundy!"

J'onn had just reached the hole in the wall where he crashed when he heard this. His eyes widened even as his reptilian form shrunk down to normal size again. "But Superman-"

"Don't worry." Superman gritted his teeth as he felt Grundy push against him with greater force. "We'll going to take this outside. The others need you more, just go!"

The Martian hesitated for a few moments before he saw the Man of Steel fly out of the building and into the streets. He saw several men dressed in all black leather save for a thin red triangle painted onto the backs of their outfits , the Red Triangle Gang, and felt his limbs meld into his body as J'onn transformed himself into a large snake. He slithered after the escaped criminals that faded into the darkness of the city. The men shuddered as they felt something scaly and slippery wind itself around their bodies and squeeze them. Oxygen left their lungs oh so slowly, until there was nothing but a sense of nothingness. As the Red Triangle Gang members slumped into unconsciousness, J'onn felt his arms slowly unstick themselves from either side of his torso, slowly reverting back to his humanoid form.

Superman held tightly onto Grundy's body in a bear hug, struggling to restrain the zombie in the air. He refused to let any civilians get harmed in this fight. Grundy roared into his face, the foul smells of rotting teeth and blood invading the Krytoninan's nostrils. Superman instinctively let go of Grundy and covered his nose with both hands to block out the stench. He winced as he heard a loud crash from down below and remembered that he had a zombie to deal with.

The Kryptonian flew down and began pounding at Grundy like he was nothing more than a punching bag. But a thick, gray arm shot out from the ground and latched itself onto the Man of Steel's face. Superman once more felt his body be thrown across the area as though he were a Frisbee and bounced off of the concrete several times like he was a skipping stone upon water. As the Man of Steel got up once more, he found that Grundy had jumped into the air and was about to land on top of him. He quickly rolled out of the way and felt his eyes grow white-hot as he activated his heat vision.

Grundy used his large arms as a shield against the optic energy, coming in closer and closer towards Superman. Superman cancelled the attack and threw a punch at the zombie, sending Grundy into the air and crashing into a building, glass and bricks shattering and falling onto civilians like rain. He watched as Grundy stumbled into the wall that he crashed into, one hand holding his head in agony, before he shook himself and proceeded to drop to the ground and charge at the Kryptonian like a rhino.

"Toro toro." Superman muttered under his breath before he unlatched his cape and waved it at Grundy for a few brief moments. He dropped the cape to the ground and proceeded to charge at the zombie. The collision was intense, like an unmovable object meeting an unstoppable force. Sweat started beading down the Man of Steel's face as the game of push moved forward. Grundy gritted his teeth together and leaned in a little, pushing the Kryptonian several feet. Superman felt as though his feet were standing on top of ice as the leverage starting turning towards Grundy's favor. Now would be a good time for help...

He pressed the communicator in his ear. "Batman. Superman here. Grundy got loose and is rampaging on the streets. I need backup. I repeat: I NEED BACKUP!"

* * *

Robin looked at their shadowy surroundings-he and Flash had hidden themselves in an abandoned building in case Croc came by-expecting to see a familiar costume come into view any moment. He was tempted to call Batman, but the image of the Dark Knight's frustrated face made Robin decide against the option for the moment. He detached his utility belt from his uniform and checked each individual pocket. If they were going to fight Killer Croc, the best Robin could do was make sure he had enough weapons in his inventory to last the night. His hand didn't bother him as much as it did now that he was keeping himself occupied. After ten minutes, Robin counted out his grappling hook, five smoke bombs, fifty feet of extra cable, the Bat-communicator, and thirty Bata-no, he didn't call them that-

"Weird looking batarangs, huh Robin?" Robin was so focused on what he was doing, he pinned Flash to the ground the moment he spoke up. He should have never encouraged this guy into talking, especially at this time. Realizing his mistake, Robin pulled his bo staff away from the Speedster and turned away in embarrassment.

"Would you not do that?" Robin whispered harshly. "This is a stakeout, not a game of Twenty Questions!"

"Sorry." Flash responded, his voice still too loud for comfort.

"Shhh!" Robin glared, pressing his forefinger to his lips to indicate the message further. When Flash pressed his own forefinger to his lips as a sign that he understood, Robin relaxed a little.

"You want to tell me about those batarangs?" Flash whispered quietly now.

"They're not batarangs." Robin muttered. "I call them...forget it, its a stupid name."

"Come on Rob," Flash pleaded, "I won't laugh."

Robin sighed, "I call them...birdarangs." He turned his head towards Flash and saw that the Speedster's face remained impassive for a change. Almost impressed too. At least he's able to keep his word.

"Makes sense." Flash pondered out loud. "I mean, why would someone named Robin have batarangs?"

"Because I'm not old enough to joke about that?" Robin offered up with a smirk on his face. Flash stared at the young hero in confusion before he felt his lips twitch. His mouth started puffing up with air as he struggled to control his laughter. That was just...immature. And they said that _he_ was the childish one.

Robin looked out in the distance again and sighed. He'd been on stakeouts before, but it was always with someone more...competent that his current companion. Batman was always a stickler for time. What was taking him so long? He then turned to Flash, who was currently twiddling his thumbs like a child and said. "Maybe we should contact the others and ask where they are?" Robin failed to notice how uncertain he sounded as the words escaped from his lips.

The Speedster nodded and pressed into the communicator in his ear. "Flash to Green Lantern. We're at the location, where are you guys?"

"Green Lantern here." A gruff voice came through, Robin could hear the Marine's voice from where he was and became worried. The sounds of falling debris also came through the communicator. "We're at the-argh-!Police Station. Grundy-bam!-acted up again-pow! crash!-and Superman's turning the street into a war-zone now."

"Am I the only one hear that thinks that the com is a _teensy _bit too loud in this general area?" Robin raised his voice a little to make sure that both heroes could hear him properly.

"We're evacuating the area right now." Green Lantern continued as if he didn't hear a thing Robin said. "It's going to take awhile before we can get old Grundy under control. We might as well forget about catching that Croc fellow for tonight."

"Should Rob and I come over there?" Flash asked. "Might as well get the lead out of our legs."

Robin looked up with a hopeful gaze; maybe they could get a little action. Work up a sweat, get a little payback even for what that stupid zombie tried doing to Batman and Flash in the first place. There was no way that it was all Robin's fault. His face fell, however, when Batman's voice came in through the earpiece, giving his two-cents on the matter.

"Negative-BAM! Just because we're busy-BOOM! doesn't mean you aren't. You and Robin-CRASH! need to stay at your location until further orders arrive." The Dark Knight's voice responded, his tone gave no room for argument. Flash looked over to Robin, who sighed heavily at the news. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear." Flash responded into the communicator with a huff.

"Do I make myself clear?" Batman repeated.

Flash took a deep breath before responding. "I just said that-"

"Not you." Batman interjected. "Robin. You are to stay at your position until further notice. Do you understand?

"Yes." Robin said immediately.

"Yes what?" Batman growled dangerously into Flash's ear piece, making the Speedster flinch at the volume.

"Yes _sir_." Robin sighed.

"Good. Batman out." And with that, the sounds of battle died along with the communication between the rest of the League.

"Would it kill you to lower your voice a little, Bats? I'm not Superman, but that still hurt like heck!" Flash grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his ear gently. Robin closed his eyes and rubbed his nose, it was a little itchy. This was just great! No action, no challenge, no nothing! Things couldn't get any worse-

"HELP ME!"

Apparently, they can...

* * *

**The best way to end a chapter is to leave it on a cliffhanger. A bit of a cliche with the cry for help, but at least I didn't end it in an explosion like in a Micheal Bay film or something (no offense to anyone who like his directing, by the way.)**

**I admit that I need to have Robin get more screen time than the rest of the League, this is his story after all. I promise to do better in the next chapter. You can expect an update to come up on May 19th, so don't worry about me going off the radar again. Just promise to keep giving reviews and suggestions and I'll do my part to even update ahead of the deadline. Glad to be back. Happy readings.**


	7. Chapter 6: Down in the Sewers

**Author's Note: **...Ok. I lied. I failed to make an update by the 19th. I'm really sorry about that. I need to figure out a schedule where I can write. I'll probably be working two jobs this summer (I know I'm working one, but not until June), so I'm a little concerned about how I'll be able to make updates on the story. I've fixed the prologue, so feel free to check out the new intro. Feel free to check it out if you want to to see the new beginning on it.

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Warning as this is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

**Chapter 6: Down in the Sewers**

"HELP ME!"

Robin felt his heart pound at his chest, threatening to burst out like one of those alien-things in that old horror movie he and Barbara watched against the orders of their guardians. The next few weeks were spent looking down at his chest, hoping that nothing would come out of it. He also became wary of even Alfred's cooking, which was saying something considering how wonderful the Englishman could make even something like Brussels Sprouts turn out. And that didn't even compare with the nightmares he had to hide from the other two people in the house. All of those times he thought that something would burst, something...inhuman and deadly.

While he was lost in these thoughts, Robin felt his arm being snatched up and was about to grab the owner's hand and slam it to the ground when he saw that it was red. Surprised, Robin let his body be dragged behind like a flag on a windy day while the Flash zoomed toward the source of the cries. Fortunately for Robin, his feet returned to the ground just as quickly as they left it. Is that what it was like for the Flash? Getting somewhere in an instant? Or was it just the young boy's first experience, being a passenger rather than the pilot.

It was too bad that the landing was left to be desired though...

Robin hissed as he felt gravel scrape against his leggings. He felt his hand be released from the Speedster's grasp and automatically wrapped both of his hands around his knees. He felt no cuts, but the leggings- being made of Kevlar helped reduce problems- were worn down, giving Robin the feeling of being vulnerable...naked. Thank God he wasn't wearing short shorts or else this might have been worse. Scratch that, it wouldn't be worse...it would be hell!

"Sorry." Robin heard Flash mumble above him, his voice filled with wincing regret. "Guess I got carried away there. Trust me though, it's a lot safer on my back."

"Well aren't you a modern Sherlock." Robin grumbled, rubbing his injured knees for a few moments. He ignored the offered hand and almost pushed himself off of the ground completely when pain shot up his arm again and toppled him like a pillar. A strong arm wrapped itself around Robin's waist; this time, he offered no resistance as he was brought up and found both his feet planted on the ground once more. Robin looked up at the Speedster. "Why'd you grab me and run off like that?"

"Look." The Speedster replied as he raised his arm and pointed.

"Look where? Are you going to give me a straight forward answer?" Robin was starting to get impatient now.

Flash shook his head and merely pointed at what appeared to be a garbage can close to the light of a streetlamp, but still avoiding the light pouring out of it. Robin looked at Flash, and then at the object that was at least twenty feet from them. He blinked, trying to see if his vision wasn't going bad and huffed with frustration.

Robin's lips pursed tightly as he furrowed his eyes at the Speedster. "That's what you dragged us here for? A _garbage can?!_ Someone's in trouble, we've got to find them and-"

"You know, you were acting a lot nicer earlier." Flash sighed, as if he were dealing with someone with a poor memory. "And that's not a garbage can. Look closer and you'll see."

Robin scoffed. "If that's not a garbage can, then what-"

"Not 'what'." Flash cut him off. "Who." And with that, he turned the young hero's head towards the bulky shape in the shadows. And then...the shape moved! It came closer and closer until it was bathed in the light from the lamppost. Hunched over, dressed in layers of blues and greens and yellows and reds...was an old lady. She was hunched over, her body being supported by a crutch. Her face was mostly covered by a purple scarf, so Robin could only make out two eyes. Her hair was concealed by a large handkerchief, something that brought a brief image of a man with ebony hair like his for some odd reason. What little skin that he could see was wet with what appeared to be tears.

"Sorry about that." Robin mumbled to the women quietly.

Flash huffed his chest and walked towards the elderly woman. He crouched down to meet her eyes easier and asked in a gentle voice. "Were you the one crying for help, m'am?"

The old woman nodded so much, that it looked to Robin like she was quivering from the cold. It was near the winter after all. Robin sighed to himself, they were never going to catch Killer Croc now. But he hardly ever came out of the sewers though, so there should be no problem. For now at least.

"What appears to be the trouble then?" Flash asked kindly. The old woman seemed to be muttering quicker than the Flash did when he got excited earlier, it was like trying to understand the wind from where Robin was standing. The Speedster kept a grin on his face, nodding every now and again as the woman muttered rapidly. Robin failed to pick up a single word from her. Flash nodded once more and walked towards the young hero.

Flash dropped his grin as he bent down and whispered into Robin's ear. "I can't understand a _thing _she's saying! Maybe you'll understand her better than I can." Ah, so the Flash was having difficulties with the woman too, was he? This was interesting.

Robin shook his head. "Why me? I could barely follow what you were saying earlier."

Flash breathed quietly. "I think she wants to tell you herself. Didn't you notice her looking at you the entire time?" Robin shook his head. No, he didn't. Flash sighed and gently nudged him towards the woman's direction. Robin planted his feet firmly on the ground. There was no way he was going to go near that woman like the Speedster did. It wasn't that he was prejudice, it was just the fact that they were in Gotham and in the East End right now! She was bound to be dangerous. Flash grabbed a hold of Robin's shoulders and pushed him now, apparently trying not to harm the young hero, but still get him to move nonetheless. Robin finally relented and stomped all the way to the old woman, stopping when he was at least a feet away from her. That would give him enough space to avoid her grasp. He could see her eyes better now, grayish-blue. The old woman reached out for Robin, her multi-colored sleeves clasping onto the young hero's shoulders with a surprisingly firm grip. Robin gasped as he felt himself be pulled towards the old woman, squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation for whatever was going to happen. And then, he heard her speak.

"My baby." She whispered rapidly, the smell of garlic and wine on her breath. "My baby was taken from me."

"Who took them?" Robin asked quietly. He didn't want to say 'it;' a child is different from an object.

"Those scales." The old woman wept quietly. "Those teeth. What kind of creature was that?"

"Were the scales gray?" Robin gasped, trying to control his excitement. Please let this lady be a point in the right direction.

The old woman nodded. "Th-that..._thing_ said it was hungry and wanted a snack. To-told me that I looked to dry. Those arms...too strong."

"What does your child look like?" Robin breathed back, afraid to speak louder than a whisper. There was no time to argue whether or not the old woman was actually the mother. A child was in danger, that was important enough for him.

"She's two years old-"

Dear God, a toddler...

"Orange hair with a scar over her left eye-"

Please let this be from an accident and not from abuse...

"And she's wearing a black collar around her neck with golden stripes-" Robin felt his heart stop for a moment. His stomach knotted with fear. Was this girl being-he didn't even want to think of that fear in mind...

"And her name is Mrs. Rose, that poor kitty is in danger. She can't stand the water!" The knot in his stomach lessened. It was a cat. Not a child. That made things easier.

"Do you have an idea of where Killer Croc went...m'am?" Robin added the last part, remembering how Flash spoke to her with respect. Not that he didn't do it already, he still had to show some manners in front of the senior hero.

The old woman drew him closer to her face. Her voice became venomous, hatred laced with every word. "Even better. I know where that thing is hiding. I heard talk down in the sewers of a place...bright lights...energy...a large W..." Wayne Enterprises!? How did that slip by Batman?

"They saw he's hiding underneath the pipelines down there. Where pathways are untouched by man." The woman continued mysteriously.

"They?" Robin asked, unsure of some of the things the woman was saying. He wasn't sure if he could handle a round of the Pronoun Game at the moment.

"The Underdwellers." The old woman replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She seemed to have seen the look of confusion on Robin's face and continued in a much slower voice now. Just like those socialites at those dumb parties always did. Ugh. He wasn't _too_ young, nor was he dumb. Maybe this lady was trying to make sure he understood her better now, considering how she spoke a little louder too, but not to the point where it became patronizing. "The sewer people. Those who thrive from beneath. The ones who forsake the light and welcome the darkness. "

"How do you know these people?" Robin questioned, making a mental note to tell Batman about this later.

"I trade with them." The woman explained, pride glittering in her eyes. "Dead batteries , broken chairs, even damaged books for bread, wine, or whatever else they can trade with me. That's how I met Mrs. Rose." Her face looked away from Robin, who used that moment to turn away and gulp down some garlic/wine-free air before looking at the woman once more. Her face was filled with nostalgia and warmth before it faded away, leaving sorrow in its wake. She wailed. "MRS. ROSE!"

"We'll find her, m'am." Robin reassured the old woman. "I give you my word."

"You?" The old woman looked stunned, tears dripping down her face. "Why you? You're just a baby. I always said that they get younger every year; every year and no one gives a damn about what old Granny has to say." She appeared to have forgotten that she was talking to Robin and started walking away, mumbling under her breath as she did so.

"M'am, I still have questions for you." Robin called out to the old woman. "How long have these 'Underdwellers' been around? Are they good?" But the old woman ignored him and continued walking further into the darkness.

"I'll assume she gave you good news then?" A voice spoke from behind Robin. He jumped in surprise and turned around to see that it was the Flash. He had forgotten all about him during that talk with the old woman. Flash saw the look of fright turn into anger and frowned. "Sorry I scared you, Rob."

"You didn't scare me." Robin lied. "I-I was just...surprised is all."

Flash smirked now. "You are such a bad liar!"

"Am not." Robin retorted, his cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment.

"Are too." Flash responded.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are t-"

"Can we just drop this conversation and get out of here?" Robin grabbed a hold of the Speedster and shook him lightly. "I know where Croc is now!"

Flash beamed. "Awesome! Let's call the others and-"

"No, they're probably still busy." Robin shook his head. "Let me on your back and I'll tell you where to go."

The Flash grinned even more. "Does this mean you want to ride the Flash Express now, kiddo?" He gulped when he saw the expression on the young hero's face and tried to look apologetic.

"Just shut up and let's go." Robin blushed and crossed his arms in embarrassment.

"Aren't we a grouchy person right now." Flash mumbled under his breath.

* * *

"Message to be sent to Superman." Flash pressed into his ear where his communicator was located. The two heroes were now at the West End of Gotham, standing next to another sewer entrance. Wayne Enterprises was only a mile or so away from their current location. "Robin and I have located Killer Croc's approximate position. He is hiding somewhere underneath the pipelines near Wayne Enterprises, located in the West End of Gotham. Eyewitness claims that Croc has been hiding there for some time now. It may be his new hiding spot, it may be a trap. I'm not entirely sure. I will investigate the pipelines underneath by entering the sewers myself. Robin will act as my guide all the way back up here. Communications will probably fail down there, but my signal will be detectable. If for any reason, Robin is not at his location where he can direct you to me,focus your efforts on making sure our Boy Wonder is safe and do not worry about me. If you wish to split up, then you will find the entrance that I've taken will be approximately one mile from Wayne Enterprises. Flash out."

"Again with the 'Boy Wonder' thing?" Robin frowned.

"I like it." Flash replied. "I think it suits you just fine."

"Well I just wish that you'd stop calling me that altogether before it sticks." Robin pleaded. "I don't care why you keep calling me it, just please stop it! It's getting under my skin."

"Wow, I can run at high speeds _and _get under your skin." Flash responded with fake shock. "I must be a dermatologist now."

Robin tried to glare at the Speedster, but his lips kept on twitching until he burst out laughing. Flash blinked at this spectacle before smiling. He chuckled lightly as Robin continued to laugh until he was on his knees, hitting the concrete with one hand as tears of mirth streamed down his face. He was already wheezing, he thought it was hilarious. Flash felt a lot happier seeing the kid relax. No. It was more like relief. It was about time that kid started acting his age. Even though his joke wasn't that funny to begin with.

"I knew you'd take a joke sooner or later." Flash grinned. Robin started calming down long enough so he could give what appeared to have been a glare, but came off more as a pout. Flash chuckled again, much to the young hero's dismay. The look that Robin was now giving the Speedster seemed to help him stop laughing altogether and breathe normally again.

"Someone's got a case of the Mondays." Flash teased. "No need to get all pouty with me. What would Santa Claus say?"

"He'd say to grow the heck up and stop believing in him." Robin seemed to have answered before thinking it through, as he quickly covered his mouth right as he finished the last word. His face was growling flush again, more with shame or guilt rather than embarrassment. After a few moments, his face paled and he lowered his hands, letting them hang limply on either side of him. Flash could barely hear what Robin said, but still felt sympathy nonetheless.

"I'm sorry."

Flash was immediately kneeling down in front of Robin, gently grabbing a hold of the tip of his chin so he could get the young hero to look him in the eyes. "There's nothing to apologize for at all, Robin. _Nothing_. You understand?" Robin nodded numbly, although the color of his face seemed to come back from those gentle words.

"Does that thing act as a recorder too?" Robin pointed to Flash's earpiece.

"More or less." Flash shrugged as he began to stand up. "Hardly had to use it on account of hardly splitting up all the time. Remember to stay here, alright?" His expression turned slightly serious now, something that seemed to make Robin less tense.

"I guess." Robin sighed. "With any luck, we'll catch up to you in minutes."

"Knock on wood." Flash suddenly dashed up to Robin and rapped his head three times.

"Ow! What was that for?" Robin rubbed his head.

"Old habit of mine." Flash grinned. "Whenever someone expects something to go a certain way, I rap them on the head and say 'Knock on wood.' It's to prevent their words from jinxing it up."

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to actually do that on _actual_ wood instead of other people." Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, well there's not going to be wood around here all of the time, now is there?" Flash asked ironically. "Besides. Still counts if you do it on anything."

"I'll take your word for it then." Robin shrugged.

"Didn't I tell you to stay put?" A gravely voice from behind Robin spoke. Robin jumped with surprise and tripped.

"_Rahat!_" Robin swore under his breath.

"Rahat?" Flash repeated in confusion.

"I'd be careful with what I'd say if I were you, Flash." A kinder voice spoke up, a goofy grin clearly on the speaker's face. "I doubt Batman's above doing the whole 'bar of soap in your mouth' thing yet. The same goes for you too, Robin. You've been told this enough times to know better by now." Robin blushed, though it was easier to take from Superman when he scolded him in a light voice rather than a harsh one.

Flash looked up and grinned weakly. Standing before him was not only Batman being held up by Superman, but Hawkgirl, J'onn, Diana, and Green Lantern. Hawkgirl was nursing a split lip and several bruises across her arms while a clammy looking J'onn was being supported in the air by Green Lantern, who had a few cuts on his cheek. Batman's cape appeared to have been torn halfway down while his attire was covered in a mixture of rubble and dirt. Superman and Diana were the only ones without a scratch, overall, something that appeared to be bothering Hawkgirl greatly, as she seemed to be muttering things like _t__he Princess does not bleed_ or _the Princess does not get dirty_.

"I take it Grundy wasn't all keen about being taken down by the Justice League again?" Flash tried to act innocent, as if he and Robin had come here by accident. The tone he tried was as if he were talking about the weather.

"Far from it." Hawkgirl grumbled. "He demolished at least three blocks before Diana's lasso got around him. He still would have put up a fight if Batman didn't throw some gas pellets at the thing."

"What happened to him?" Robin pointed to J'onn, who tried to stand on the ground with Green Lantern's assistance before he collapsed to the ground, even sweatier than before and muttering under his breath.

"Red Triangle Gang." Green Lantern spoke bitterly. "They were in police custody when Grundy went berserk. They got out in the confusion. J'onn when after them, but one of them had a lighter and some gasoline on them. Decided to 'put on a little show.'" The Marine looked down at the Martian, worry etching on the man's chocolate-colored face. "Lord knows what would have happened to J'onn if I didn't get to him in time. He was practically a puddle by the time I found him. And those kids weren't making it any easier."

"I do not need your help, I just need a few moments' rest." J'onn muttered as he brushed away Diana's offered hand. "I'm fine now, thank you for your concern." He wobbled like gelatin as he brought himself up to full height before Green Lantern placed a hand out to help even out the Martian. J'onn smiled weakly as a sign of thanks.

Superman looked at Flash. "Care to tell me why you were going to head down the sewers by yourself?"

"You heard? That quickly?" The Flash's eyes widened with surprise. "Yeesh, I should be using the recorder more often."

"Well, it helped that it was more of an actual call than a pre-recorded message." Superman grinned. "I didn't want to embarrass you at the time."

"I thought you told me that the communicators could record messages like a phone." Robin frowned at the embarrassed Speedster.

"What part of 'hardly used' did you not understand?" Flash groaned as his hand slammed into his forehead.

"Thanks for the heads-up." Batman replied as he walked towards the sewer lid. "Now if you could be so kind as to stay up here while we handle things from here."

"Let Flash go with you guys, I'll keep an eye on the Munchkin." Hawkgirl offered. If the Flash was able to stay with the kid for this long, then he couldn't be that bad, right?

"MUNCHKIN!?" Robin cried in protest and directed a glare at the winged woman, who had the decency to look away.

"I was just joking." She grumbled. "Don't take it personally."

"Speaking of jokes-" Flash began before he saw Robin shaking his head frantically. He nodded the young hero's way; maybe it was best to keep that moment between the two of them for now.

"How about we _all _go?" Superman suggested as he went up to the entrance and pulled the lid off, giving no room for arguing.

Robin beamed with gratitude at the Kryptonian, who grinned back in return.

"So Grundy's all taken care of then?" Flash asked as he went behind Batman. "No more outbursts? Everything all set?"

"He'll be out for days." Green Lantern chuckled darkly. "I think he was given enough tranquilizers to OD _several_ elephants."

Robin sighed with relief as he followed Flash down into the sewers. "Good. I'm not sure I want to see that thing for as long as I live."

"You alright, Robin?" Superman asked gently, taking note of the young hero's hollow voice. Robin nodded rapidly, not feeling in the talkative mood at the moment. It's been a long night for him, even by patrol's standards. As he climbed down the ladder, Robin almost gagged on the intense smell of rotten eggs, expired milk, and all kinds of incomprehensible aromas. The moment Robin's feet touched the small amount of concrete ground, he covered his mouth and nose with his cape. He would have bumped into Diana if Hawkgirl didn't pull out her mace and sent electricity flowing through the weapon, bathing the heroes in an intensely bright light. Green Lantern held up his ring, letting for a soft green glow that didn't make Robin try to cover his eyes as well as his nose. Hawkgirl lowered her mace and stopped the flow of electricity, leaving them in the green aura's light. It stretched out a great distance, something that Diana was quick to point out.

"Maybe you should keep the light to a minimum," She suggested to Green Lantern, her voice bounced off the walls in an endless melody. "It might give away our location."

"You might want to tone it down a notch too, Princess," Hawkgirl muttered sarcastically under her breath. Diana glared at her, but the other female ignored her look.

"So...what is exactly our plan of action here? We'll have to keep an eye out for a lost cat too, you know." Flash questioned Batman in a nasally voice. Sometimes, there were some things the Fastest Man Alive can never prepare for. "Does Superman just uses his x-ray vision and we follow him to Tick-Toc?"

"We're the Justice League." Hawkgirl huffed. "Not an animal rescue group or whatever your people call them."

"This cat belongs to the source who lead us here in the first place." Robin explained calmly, still irritated by her calling him a Munchkin.

"Tick-Toc?" Diana turned towards Green Lantern, her face scrunched up in efforts to block out the filthy stench.

"Long story. No time." Green Lantern replied quickly.

"Not possible here. The walls are lined with lead. Our best shot is to let Green Lantern take the lead from here," Batman replied nonchalantly to the Speedster right next to him. The stench didn't seem to bother him at all. Does that cowl of his also act as a filter? Or did he somehow build up an immunity towards even stenches?

"How does that help us find Killer Croc?" Robin asked as he searched through his utility belt for a gas mask. Or a water mask. Or anything that would help block out the stench at all!

"Because my ring can detect heat signatures like footprints." Green Lantern held up his ring in response, being careful not to let the light stretch out further than a few feet.

"Here he goes again." Hawkgirl sighed under her breath, it appeared as if this was going to lead up to a little lecture.

Green Lantern ignored her response and continued. "Being a part of the Green Lantern Corps isn't always about beating up bad guys, you know. Sometimes, you'll need a way to locate criminals that got away."

"But aren't reptiles, you know, cold-blooded?" Robin raised his left eyebrow in response. When the Marine continued walking as if he didn't hear the young hero, Robin sighed and simply kept his eyes open for any sudden movements in the cramp, moist tunnel. Little did he know that the Dark Knight was now right next to him. Maybe he should be keeping his ears on the lookout as well...

"All animals can project heat," Batman whispered to his partner, who did his best not to shiver with the man so close to him right now. "And you know as well as I do that Croc's a human. He's just...different."

"Didn't know that." Robin muttered weakly. "Still trying to get the basics down." _Please don't be _too _mad at me._

"Nobody's perfect." Batman sighed. Robin brightened for a few moments, understanding the message underneath that phrase '_Don't worry about earlier__._'Although he felt himself become cold again with the next sentence that came out of Batman's mouth. "You can still learn." _'I expect better of you though.'_

"More like a...what do people call guys with powers again? I know the first part sounds like meta." Robin frowned as he struggled to recall the phrase.

"Metahuman?" Flash suggested, "Like me?"

"Yeah," Robin nodded, "A metahuman."

"It's more of a condition rather than a power-" Batman began before Hawkgirl interrupted him.

"You can bore us with the detail later, Bats. But this isn't really a good time."

"Only fair to warn the rest of you, Croc is also an adept swimmer." Batman continued as if Hawkgirl hadn't spoken up at all. "He can jump almost as high as a flying fish." Hawkgirl heard this and backed away from the water's edge very slowly. Flash followed the Thanagarian's lead and stayed as close to the wall as possible. Diana grinned at this little spectacle. Men could be such cowards sometimes.

"I've dealt with worse things on the island of Themyscira." She boasted. "We often had contests of strength..."

Robin felt cramped being with everyone so close together. It was almost like being in a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Not even the return of Superman comforted him that much. The Man of Steel kept on glancing over his shoulder at the young hero, it was obvious what he was thinking about right now. At first, it was great knowing that he had Superman's support on the matter; but now it was difficult when they were on opposite sides of the table.

It quickly turned out that Green Lantern's ring really could find footprints, since the Marine started finding large footprints that resembled those of a crocodile. But Robin noticed how sometimes the prints were too close to one another. Other times it looked like Croc was walking diagonally or even walking in place. Then it became really weird when Robin saw multiple footprints in the same general area, like Croc was just walking in place. Did the others know about this at all?

"Anyone else noticing this?" Robin called out, unaware of his question bouncing around the tunnel as if he just spoke into a megaphone. When everyone shushed him, Robin felt his cheeks burn. He forgot how loud his voice could be sometimes.

"If you're asking about the footprints going in different directions, then yes, I did notice that." Batman replied. "Croc seems to be wounded, but I don't see any blood. We can rule out serious injuries for the moment."

"You think he was in a fight?" Flash asked. He squeezed up to where Green Lantern was and looked at the footprints bathed in green light. The Marine began to examine the walls with his ring as well, exposing large hand-prints every now and again. There was also specks of red stains on the concrete as well, splatted on the floor and the wall. Batman went over to one of the larger stains and prodded it with a finger. He examined it closely before standing up again and faced the others.

"It's blood." Batman concluded. "Looks like Croc really was in a fight recently."

"Probably with Grundy," Superman observed, "Maybe that's why they split up so early on in the chase."

"And look!" Hawkgirl activated her mace and directed the light towards the water. Floating on the surface, on a piece of wood, was a...

"Cat?" Superman raised an eyebrow.

"Must be Mrs. Rose." Robin rushed over to the shaking animal despite Batman's harsh warnings to stay close. "Orange hair...or should I say fur. Scar over the left eye. Black color with gold stripes. Well that's one mission accomplished." The young hero grinned with satisfaction as he wrapped his arms around the creature in an effort to warm it. Mrs. Rose hissed and tried clawing at the young hero holding her closely in vain, but the Kevlar barely got marked up. All was right in the world so far, at least the old lady will be happy to have her pet back tonight.

"Mrs. Rose?" Hawkgirl asked.

"The eyewitness claimed that her cat was taken from her by Killer Croc, forgot to mention the specifics. But where's the Croc? Better yet, where's the money he and Grundy stole?" Robin looked around, trying to figure out why the cat was without it's captor. He then felt something on Mrs. Rose that was in the shape of a tick. He pulled it out, revealing a small, black microphone.

"Check this out." Robin held out the microphone to Green Lantern, who immediately shot out a green hand from his ring and took it from the young hero's hand. Why was it on the cat? Why would Croc even go to all of the trouble of stealing a cat if he wasn't going to keep it with him. And how did that woman know so much about Croc's hiding spot in the first place?

Just as it came to him, he felt a scaly arm wrap itself around his ankle.

It was a trap.

**To Be Continued...**

**So sorry again about the late update. But at least you know I'm alive now. Hehe. Do you have any questions about Green Lantern? Do you have any ideas for showing more of his softer side? Did I satisfy you with more screen-time for Robin (I know I'm satisfied.) What do you think Batman's secret language with Robin should be like (where he literally says one thing, but means another?) Do you want the old lady to make another appearance in the story? Thank you for reading and please review.**


	8. Chapter 7: From the Jaws of Defeat

**Author's** **Note**: **First things first, I just wanted to let you know that I've fixed up Chapter 2 and Chapter 6. I highly you recommend that you check Chapter 6 out, mainly around the end, before you read this chapter. There were a few things I had to fix up in order to bring sense back into the tale. **

**Secondly, I've been thinking lately about my portrayal of Robin. Does he come off as sort of an Anakin Skywalker to you folks. You know; bratty, angsty, not very likable to begin with thanks to Hayden Christensen's portrayal? He doesn't seem bratty to me, more like...indecisive with his emotions. ****Maybe a little shy to show his true colors. Does that come close to being bratty? I just want to know since I want him to be likable and still have issues to deal with. Like Naruto except ebony-haired and smarter...and born and raised in a circus.**

**Flash: At least you don't make him sound like Wonder Woman when she's having her-**

**Batman: (Glares) Do you want to finish that sentence? (Gestures to Wonder Woman, who cracks her knuckles threateningly in the shadows of the fanfiction world.)**

**Flash: (Backs away slowly) Never mind...**

**Also wanted to mention last chapter: I was having difficulties figuring out how to change how the Justice League found Killer Croc while adding some detective work in there. So I talked to two people about it; Sora Tsuiki, who is another writer online (pretty damn good too, check out their stories, they were my go-to person for any problems or ideas I had for the story) and my best friend (who is someone entirely different by the way.) The original idea my pal suggested was that the lady from last chapter be rich and that Killer Croc stole her pet for money. Plus, Mrs. Rose was originally a dog. Then it would lead to Flash and Robin going down into the sewers by themselves tracking Croc via UV light. Robin was actually supposed to message the League while Flash went down into the sewers by himself, but of course Robin disobeys and follows him. Long story short, Batman realizes the Boy Wonder went down there and goes after him. My version is sadly watered-down, but I hope you still like it.**

**When Killer Croc was called "Tick-Tock", this was a reference to the crocodile from Peter Pan. I've learned that references have been made in episodes of the Justice League from other forms of media, so I thought I should try doing that as well. It often made the show sound intelligent. I don't know if you like my trying to make references like they did in the show, so please let me know in the comments. That goes for dialogue too, that is my biggest problem so far.**

**Once again, I am so sorry for the long absence. I will try to do better now. Happy Labor Day!**

**Disclaimer: All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

**Chapter 7: From the Jaws of Defeat**

It was a trap...

That was the only thing Robin could think of as he felt Killer Croc's scaly hand pull him into the water. Mrs. Rose was tossed carelessly into the air like a football and screeched in shock. The only words that could materialize in his head as he tried swimming back up to the surface. The only thought that mattered aside from getting air into his lungs before he drowned when he felt Killer Croc grab at his cape, tugging at it, chocking Robin and taking away more precious oxygen. He kicked weakly, hoping to hit something. A hand- his injured one at that- reached for the clasp holding the dark fabric around his neck and pressed down on it. The wave of pain that would have washed over Robin was numbed by the icy waters. The sudden momentum pushing him several inches forward told him that he was free from Croc's grasp. Legs kicked strongly, pushing Robin closer to the surface...closer to air...

It was a trap...

His face barely broke the surface of the water when he began gasping like a dying tuna. He never thought that the sewer air could smell so sweet as he gulped down breath several times right before he felt claws grab at the back of his tunic and pull him underwater yet again. They were starting to dig into his back when he felt started to feel his body being pulled like taffy, back and forth as if in a demented game of tug-of-war. Part of the source came from another pair of hands, much smaller than Croc's, but still intrusive nonetheless, latched around Robin's waist. He didn't want any more personal contact. Too many people were invading his private bubble...

It was a trap...

He struggled against the grip that was...now partially shifted onto his injured hand...bit down on his lower lip so hard...that it bled in order to...keep from screaming and therefore...lose more oxygen as a result. The other hand that remained wrapped itself...tightly around Robin's waist pulled hard...and managed to drag him in the opposite direction, at a much faster speed this time...almost like a speedboat...they were out of...the water...again. But Robin's lungs...couldn't...wouldn't...act...something was...stopping them...from working...he opened his mouth but...but it was like...like sucking the insides of a...of a plastic juice bag with nothing left...and actually _took_ away...your breath...his lungs felt paper-thin...

It was a trap...

He didn't scream when his...body was brought...out of the...water. He didn't...resist when...the same hands that latched...themselves around his waist began rubbing the...feeling...back into his arms. The hands went from his...his arms to his...to his chest and...and began thrusting in...in rhythm. Robin felt like a...a shampoo bottle...that was almost...almost empty. But he swung...an arm at the...at the shadow...coming too close to his face for comfort...when his mouth was...was pulled open...he felt breath chilling...chilling his wet face even more...weak attempt at defense and...the figure...his vision started to blur more...came closer until Robin began coughing, his lungs started to function properly again...

"It was a trap..."

* * *

_Dick!_ Batman wanted to scream that out loud when Robin was pulled into the water and the cat he was just holding went soaring into the air before Hawkgirl caught the disheveled creature and held it at arm's length. The creature slashed at the female's arms and scampered away when Hawkgirl let go of it in surprise. Batman wanted to roar his partner's name out loud. But he didn't. Because his mouth wasn't working properly. Because it might agitate Killer Croc even further. Because the others would hear and know the identity of his partner. And because that would be melodramatic...the Dark Knight bent his knees in preparation for jumping into the water when the microphone in Green Lantern's hand suddenly burst into life. He turned to face the direction of the noise and saw that Superman mirroring his movements in preparation to plunge in.

"_I wouldn't come to the rescue if I were you, Batman. Don't worry about your little friend. If he behaves himself-which he should-he just might make it to see the morning sun. But that really depends on how well you listen to what I have to say."_

The noise was distorted, making the voice responsible unidentifiable. It was calm. Amused even. And the way that voice referred to Robin as Batman's "little friend" came off more like a sneer, as if the phrase was meant to be a hint to Batman's relationship with Robin on a darker note. And Superman wanted to ignore the voice regardless but the words sounded so confident. Almost like that blasted Luthor. So damn confident. It even seemed to know that Superman was still about to plunge into the water, as it spoke up again.

"_I wouldn't be so eager to take a dip in there if I were you. I said that your friend's _safety_ depends on how well you _listen_ to me. Is that Kryptonian brain of yours too dense to see hear me or does your companion's life mean so little to you that you want to have his life end quickly?"_

"Don't." A gloved hand roughly grabbed a hold of Superman's arm. The Kryptonian looked up and saw the white slits of Batman's eyes furrow into a glare. "You're only making things worse!" There was anger, there was frustration, there was...fear. Regardless of what the Kryptonian sensed in his friend's eyes, he knew that the Dark Knight would always deny feeling fear.

"He's going to die!" Superman howled in alarm as he tugged away from Batman, but found himself being grabbed by more hands, stronger than Batman. Diana. The feel of her lasso around his torso did feel familiar. His struggles were getting more frantic as Diana's grip tightened, and found himself being held down by another pair of hands much larger-J'onn- and suddenly felt his head wrack with pain; as if he were back in kindergarten, when the noises around him were often too much to handle on his own. The days of endless crying until his throat was raw from use.

"Superman," J'onn's monotone voice that somehow radiated warmth and confidence cried out into his ear, "I understand that this is difficult to do, but you _must_ remain calm!

_"I__f you don't stop and think for a moment about the consequences your actions may have, so will millions from here to Bludhaven. Or at least suffer for the next several months. Especially with winter on the way." _The voice started chuckling a little, as if it (he? she?) had just made a light joke. _"Oh, and don't worry about your friend. He should be coming up for air in about three...two...one-"_

Right on cue, Robin came up, gulping down oxygen for a few moments before two large scaly hands came up and dragged him back down. Superman could barely make out the shadows in the water that were moving down the current in the sewers-at a high speed too-before he rammed against Diana and J'onn, loosening his bindings both physical and mental, and about to go after Killer Croc and Robin before a red blur beat him to the punch and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels. Batman threw a batarang at the mutated creature, who proceeded to dive into the water, while the thrown projectile proceeded to connect with the concrete. The Dark Knight swore under his breath as he watched Killer Croc swiftly swim away.

The voice sounded irritated, like a parent trying to speak with someone on the phone, but their child kept on interrupting them without any awareness to their surroundings. "_Now if the Speedster hadn't been so eager to jump the gun, I wouldn't have to force my hand right now. Tut, tut, tut. I begin to wonder if his brain isn't as fast as his feet."_

Superman barely felt his feet leave the ground when Diana grabbed a hold of his shoulder again, this time, with less strength behind them and more reassurance with the squeeze of her hand. Her voice was level, but Superman could see that her face was pale.

"Don't worry about Robin, Flash will get him back safe and sound again."

_"_Finally_, someone with some sense in their brain. And from a woman, nonetheless..." _

"Just cut to the chase and tell us what you want!" Hawkgirl raised her mace threateningly with one hand and held the cat in the other at the degrading comment, while the Amazon glared in the direction of the voice. On any other day, Diana would have lashed out against any mortal who would dare judge her based on such a fact-less thing like gender. But there wouldn't be a Superman to restrain either. The-what did Flash say the other day?-...the shoe would be on the other foot. On any other day, there wouldn't be a child at risk and would possibly suffer if any of the League reacted against the perpetrator's wishes.

Her curiosity peaked, Diana dared to speak the very thing on her mind. "How are you able to see where we are? Are you using a crystal ball of some sort? Perhaps an enchantment that allows you to throw your voice from a large distance?"

The voice from the microphone chuckled. "_Perhaps my premonition was incorrect. But to answer your question, young lady__, I'm _everywhere, _and as for what I want_..._let's just say it's a game of speed. There are 5 bombs located on major water pipes throughout the sewer, and they're all scheduled to go off in 25 minutes...or was it 15...maybe even in 10 minutes...hehehe, they've been counting down for a while now. Might as well be giving you a red herring. Not a wise move to be asking such trivial things in moments of crisis, madam. Continuing: if they aren't disarmed before the allotted time, which could be at any moment...BOOM! Do you want me to explain again with pictures or a PowerPoint presentation?" _The voice sounded more rhetorical than sarcastic.

"That won't be necessary." Batman replied coolly. Superman looked at the Dark Knight like he was speaking nonsense, Green Lantern nearly dropped the microchip inside of the green hand coming from the energy of his ring, and Hawkgirl almost dropped her mace _and _the cat. "We have all the information that we need. Now if you'll excuse us..."

"Why only 5 bombs?" Superman frowned.

_"Do you want to wait and find out?"_ The voice asked sarcastically. When Superman didn't respond, the voice responded. _"I didn't think so..."_

"J'onn." Batman turned towards the Martian. "Try to locate where Flash-"

_"You don't even want a hint?"_ The voice interrupted. _"Perhaps in the form of a riddle?"_

"If I wanted to hear a riddle, I would be going after the Riddler right now." Batman kept his back turned against the others, as if the one making the threats were standing right there in front of them.

_"Very well then. Good luck, Justice League...you'll need it!"_

"Flash?" Hawkgirl pressed into her earpiece, her head turning left and right frantically as if the Speedster would appear by her side at any moment. "Flash, do you copy?"

"Don't bother." Batman frowned at Hawkgirl. "There are lead pipes mixed in the concrete. You're only talking to yourself. We need to split up and deactivate the bombs."

Hawkgirl ignored this and kept a finger to her ear, her teeth were shown gritting together as the moments passed. "Hawkgirl to Flash, answer! Flash, please respond to your com-link dammit! Flash!" She let her hand droop to her side and muttered something harsh under her breath that sounded a lot like jam.

"Are you insane?!" Superman nearly screeched in Batman's face. "We don't even know where the bombs are! They could be anywhere!"

"To answer your question, yes, I am insane." Batman said as if he weren't being yelled at by a man who could snap his neck like a toothpick. His answer was almost comical the way he replied so placidly. "But that doesn't mean that I don't know where the bombs are. Whoever is behind this said that the bombs could go off in 25 minutes, then mentioned that they might go off in 15 minutes, and then 10. I also know that there are 20 major water pipes down here and each of their locations are spread out in four different tunnels, all of them connecting at the end again. Since there are 5 bombs to deal with, our best chance is to have one people go into two tunnels-preferably Superman and Diana- while two groups of two go down the remaining ones. Chances are that one of us will come upon two bombs instead of one."

"How does this help us with our search?" J'onn inquired patiently.

"They're hints that each bomb will go off based upon how much time is needed to reach them and dismantle them. The longer the time, the further the distance from the bombs. That means that the shortest time must be for either Superman or Diana. The second-shortest will be for anyone who has powers but not the speed, and the longest timer is meant for me." Batman began walking swiftly down the tunnel where Flash, Robin, and now-sadly-Killer Croc vanished. He rummaged through one of the compartments in his utility belt before finally pulling out a heavy-looking, black square object that was 5 inches long and 2 feet wide.

"But what if there are all _5_ bombs in one tunnel?" Green Lantern ventured bravely.

"Not likely." Batman shook his head as he began touching the surface of the device. "The perpetrator wanted to spread out the damage as much as they could and collapse at least one major pipe in each tunnel in order to create a flood. There might be more damage in some areas if all five were in one tunnel, but the range of effect wouldn't stretch out all the way to Bludhaven."

He pressed down on the surface of the object, releasing a holographic image of the sewers the League was standing in out in front of him. Superman felt his chest become heavy with worry as the passageways in the underground twisted and turned like a snake in the grass. However constructed the sewers like this must have been thinking of a labyrinth.

Batman looked up from the image before him and gestured towards Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. "Lantern, you and Hawkgirl will go down the second passageway to your left and keep going. Move fast. Superman-"

The Caped Crusader looked at the Man of Steel as he spoke. The Kryptonian nodded in acknowledgement, his foot tapping impatiently. Batman nodded back and returned to the holographic projection, pointing to several lines and highlighting them red, green, or orange. A gloved hand hovered over the orange lines.

"You take the first tunnel to your left and keep going. Each of the main pipes will be darker than the rest, so keep your eyes peeled. The same goes for you, Diana, except you'll be going down the third tunnel but take a right. Wait for my instructions when you find your bomb at each tunnel. And J'onn, you stay with me. I'll need you to keep a mental link up so we can stay in contact."

"I understand." J'onn nodded. "I must warn Flash and Robin first, however, and ensure that they are safe."

"And when you're done, just remember to connect with John." Hawkgirl said, her voice not letting much room for argument. "I'm a fighter, I'm a mechanic, but I am _not_ a good messenger. And I...I'm not sure I told you this but...I'm not comfortable having a voice that isn't my own bounce around in my head. Not yet, at least." Hawkgirl was fidgeting with her mace by the end of her last sentence, her face filled with worry.

"Maybe J'onn didn't want anything to do with that bird-sized skull of yours to begin with." Green Lantern replied gruffly, his lips curling ever so slightly. Hawkgirl quickly shifted moods and returned the tease by sticking her tongue out at him. The effect was not lost on the Marine, who turned away shaking his head.

J'onn looked at Hawkgirl for a few more moments before speaking up. "Alright, but you must pay attention to the directions I will be sending to Lantern. They could mean the difference between life and death."

Hawkgirl was about to reply back when she heard Batman snapping in the background. "Gossip on your own time. Don't just stand there, MOVE IT!"

* * *

"It was a trap..." Robin gasped as air found its way back into his lungs. He tried to sit up straight, but a sudden wave of dizziness forced the young hero to lay on the ground again and continue breathing slowly.

"Oh thank God." He heard someone- Flash maybe-whisper nearby.

Flash could barely believe his ears when he heard the young boy breathing. It must have been happened in the course of 5 minutes: Robin gets pulled into the water by someone-or some_thing_\- and this voice out of nowhere threatens to kill countless people if the League tried to rescue the poor kid, then Flash dives into the water and manages to get Robin away from what appeared to have been Croc-though he wasn't sure, it was so dark in that water to begin with-and found that the passenger in his arms wasn't breathing. Flash had tried pumping air back into his lungs with the abdominal thrust with little success. The Speedster was actually afraid of giving the poor kid CPR, his reaction might have been the equivalent of that time he slapped Hawkgirl's rear and spent the next 20 minutes dodging her electric mace. But what if the kid took it the wrong way and told Batman? But the lack of progress on Robin's condition left Flash with no other choice but to try using the Kiss of Life. A weak slap against the Speedster's cheek was all he needed to know that Robin was conscious. Plus the hacking cough as air was filling Robin's lungs again. It was a slow rhythm, a snail could move faster than the rate Robin's chest was going up and down at the moment, but he was alive!

But the young hero seemed to have started slipping away again, he was already speaking gibberish. The Speedster couldn't blame the kid; hard to get up from a comfortable position without feeling nauseous.

"Robbie." Flash lightly slapped Robin's face, trying to get a reaction out of him, hoping that he didn't have a concussion. "Come on, stay awake. We got to find the others."

Robin's eyes flickered open, his eyelids halfway closed. "Flash? Is...is that you?"

"No, its-" Flash began with a weak grin on his face before Robin continued a little louder with an air of cheekiness to it,

"If you say you're Santa Claus one more time, you'll be the fastest man alive with a limp."

The Speedster's grin became wider at the weak threat. That was a threat that Hawkgirl always used with him whenever Flash flirted with her. The first time, he actually almost _did _live Hawkgirl's prophetic words when the mace came swinging at his kneecaps. The rest of the times, Hawkgirl always held her mace up but had a smirk on her face when she did so. He made a mental note to try and get Robin into the same room with the woman. Oh, the fun those two would have...

"Is that a threat, young man?" Flash inquired mockingly. Robin looked like he was about to get defensive when he saw the grin on the older man's face. The young hero responded back with a shy smile. It wasn't much, but progress was progress after all. _Good,_ Flash thought, _keep the kid talking. It'll do some good to keep a level head right now._

"It's only a threat if you want it to be." Robin chuckled lightly. When Flash attempted to help him up, Robin gently pushed himself away and began to rise up slowly, making sure that the blood didn't rush back to his head that quickly. Another wave of nausea came over him, but it wasn't as intense as the one before, but Robin still muttered under his breath. "_Rahat..."_

The use of the unknown word brought back a question the Speedster was curious about. He spoke up. "You know, I was just wondering about that word and what it meant. You used it back when we were above ground and were spooked."

Robin looked up and blushed. "I...I'm not supposed to use it. Batman doesn't like me saying it."

"Well what old Bats doesn't know won't hurt us." Flash reassured the young hero. "So what does it mean?"

"It's kind of difficult to explain...but the roughest translation of...what I said is pretty much-" Robin began to explain before Flash felt something yelped out loud:

"Aw, shit!"

"-exactly what you just said." Robin finished calmly, though a smile crept onto his face yet again.

"Sorry about that." Flash rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I felt something brush past me and I guess I got-"

"What the others don't know won't hurt you." The younger hero replied lightly. Robin then looked around him and frowned.

"Any idea where we are?" He asked.

"Heck if I know, this is _your_ city." Flash threw back calmly, refraining from sounding worried. He started to regret running that far from the group, but he was afraid that Croc would try and follow them.

"Gotham, yes. Sewers...not so much." Robin answered sadly. He then looked at Flash with a bewildered look on his face. "Don't you know?"

"Hey, I was focusing on making sure Croc didn't eat you or anything." Flash retorted. "I can barely pay attention to what's on my plate."

"We're not talking about food or anything, right?" Robin asked, recalling the burger stand Flash had described earlier.

"Look, just because I mention food once doesn't mean that I-" Flash stopped in the middle of his rant as a ringing sensation came over him. It was almost like hitting a gong with great force and the vibrations still shook your bones. Flash keeled his head as his fast mind tried to function in sync with the new brain waves. J'onn's deep voice echoed inside of his head.

_"Fl-h? C-m- -n, Fl-sh."_

"Flash." Robin's voice started to rise a little as he called out to his companion. "Flash, are you okay?"

"Never better." Flash grumbled as he strained to focus in on J'onn's thoughts. The connection was weak, they must have gone further than the Speedster thought. It was like there was a light streaming through a thin crack and the light was getting smaller. _"J'onn, I can't hear you."_

_"Fl-" _J'onn's thoughts were chopped. _"-ash. -mb. F-d b-b."_

_"J'onn, I can't understand you." _Flash tried reaching out with all of his might, trying to keep a hold of the connection, but it felt lighter and lighter. That light was fading even more...

In the last moments of the connection, Flash could only make out one coherent word being sent to his mind.

_"Bomb..." _

Like scissors to string, the connection broke and Flash found himself reeling from the psychic momentum that pushed him back. He wasn't used to a signal breaking up with J'onn like that. He also wasn't used to something tripping him from behind either. Out of reaction-or out of some forgotten instinct- Flash grabbed a hold of Robin as they both fell into the water again. Robin suddenly felt himself shuddering. He imagined this sensation only coming from motor boats, but the vibrations went at a much more rapid pace...almost as if he were becoming less solid!

What was it that teacher said about vibrations and matter? If an object were to vibrate at a certain sync...it would cease to exist! Robin felt a pressure on his uninjured hand and looked down. He followed the hand all the way up to the arm that Flash was using to keep the two together...and saw that _he_ was vibrating too! Robin almost screamed when he saw the Speedster touch a nearby wall and become swallowed up by it, but he felt his hand go through the concrete and took a deep gulp of air. He didn't know if there was such thing as breathing through a solid and he didn't want to be the first person to find out about it either...

* * *

_"Flash, I repeat: there are bombs in the sewers!"_ J'onn tried to call out to Flash, but the signal was empty. He could barely make out what Flash was saying and wasn't sure if the Speedster understood what message was attempted to be sent.

"Any luck?" Batman asked without looking up from his work near the small, black, circular mass that read **00:12:43** on it. Wires were connected to the mechanism and went all the way back to Batman's holographic projector. He was typing frantically on it, sometimes pausing for a moment or so before continuing with more vigor than before.

"Hardly any." J'onn shook his head sadly. "We are either too far away from Flash and Robin for my telepathy to be of any true use or Flash's mind is suffering from some form of exhaustion and is unable to respond back again."

"So what you're saying is; as far as you can tell, Flash and my _son_ are in the dark about a danger far worse than Killer Croc?" Batman's voice remained level, but the intensity beneath it rose with each word that came out of his mouth.

"Perhaps Killer Croc is not the real danger at all." J'onn suggested calmly as he sent out a telepathic signal to Diana and Green Lantern. "Perhaps whoever was behind this merely wanted to separate us from one another in order to take us down."

"You think I haven't thought of that." Batman wasn't asking this time. "If on the off-chance that you're right, then we have just signed our death warrants. But the chance that these bombs could potentially destroy both Gotham _and_ Bludhaven is too high to risk ignoring these bombs. Are you suggesting that we just leave these bombs and go on our merry way?" The Dark Knight glared at J'onn, who had the decency to look away, and quickly returned to his work on the bomb. After a few moments, he sighed with relief as the timer stopped going down, its face forever reading **00:09:02**.

J'onn took a deep breath and let his mind drift. He felt his eyes become cold and found his vision replaced with red._ "J'onn to the Justice League. Have you all found a bomb yet?"_

_"Thank Hera, I did."_

_"I can't see through it, it must be lined with lead."_

_"If you're all done yammering, I'd like to _not_ be splattered all over the wall."_

J'onn turned his mental direction towards Green Lantern's frustrated voice. _"What appears to be the problem, Lantern?"_

_"What seems to be the problem!? We found it, alright, but we've only got 3 minutes over here!"_

"Tell them all to remove the top of the bomb _gently_." Batman stressed the last word without looking away, his hands now working on removing the front of his bomb as if it were made of glass.

_"Everyone, remove the front part gently._" J'onn repeated through the mind-link.

"Now take the first wire-"

_"Take the first wire-"_

"And cut it without using your powers or weapons, these things are heat sensitive."

_"-and remove that without the use of powers."_

"Then move the third wire and remove that too."

_"Remove the third wire next."_

"And then reconnect the second wire to where the first wire was..."

_"Take the second wire and reconnect it into the first wire's location..."_

"And then do the same with the sixth wire and reconnect it into the third wire's spot."

_"Finally reconnect the sixth wire into the location where the third wire resided."_

_"Got it."_

_"By the goddess."_

_"Is that all of them, J'onn?"_

_"I do not know, Superman.__ Did you check the entire tunnel?" _J'onn inquired carefully.

_"I did not see any more bombs in my tunnel. I checked each pipe."_

_"Don't look at me, Hawkgirl was flying all over just to see if there were any more."_

"There is one bomb unaccounted for." J'onn turned his head towards Batman.

The Dark Knight remained silent for a few moments, remembering the glint of metal around Croc's neck before he vanished into the water before speaking up. "The last one's on Croc..."

* * *

Robin shuddered as he felt himself seem to float through the wall as if it were made of water. Flash's grip weakened once they were both through completely and was almost non-existent when they both landed in a strong current of water. It was just a miracle that he was able to pull out his bo staff when he did. His eyes caught sight of something gray in the water, and it was too close to Flash for comfort. Uncle Clark always did say that he had the eyes of a robin himself. So when Robin saw sharp teeth about to take a bite out of the Speedster's exposed ankle through the murky water, he knew he had to do something. Reaching into a utility belt with an injured hand in search of a weapon in only seconds could be an even bigger accomplishment too. But now Robin's hand was stinging with pain as he and Flash continued to float downstream with the flood, desperately trying to grab onto something. The force of the water was too strong for them to swim against, and there was no pathways now to reach out for.

His grappling hook left his hand almost as soon as Robin pulled it out, now lost to the sewers and its inhabitants when he felt something-like a hand or a foot- lashed out a moment later, leaving Robin and Flash with little to work with. Now that they knew that Croc was swimming near them, Flash took a deep breath and wrapped an arm around Robin.

"Hang on kid, I'm getting us out of here!" Flash spoke with ragged breath. He held up his other hand and began rotating it in swift circles for a few moments before it drooped to his side like a daisy past its prime.

"I hate to burst your bubble in a dire situation here, Flash, but you can't fly. Right?" Robin shuddered as the cold water seeped into his costume once more.

"Thought I could...get us airborne...if I made a little wind with my hand..." Flash gasped as he clung to Robin even more like a ragdoll. "Don't have enough juice...though."

"Juice?" Robin dared to ask.

"My speed...comes at a price...gotta eat a lot to make up...for lost calories...a _lot_ of calories." Flash struggled to stay afloat with little energy left in his body.

The way Robin saw it, there were only two options at the moment. One: stay in the water until the current either brought them towards something to use or onto dry land before Killer Croc attacked them. Two: use one of their other tools to grab a hold of something like a sewage pipe and pull themselves out of the water. But with his grappling hook gone, the only thing Robin could think of that could help now was his cape, and it barely reached down his shoulders. Even if they did make a rope out of it, the best they could hope for was possibly four feet to work with.

Option One doesn't look any better though...

"Flash!" Robin gasped as water went into his mouth, "Take off my cape!"

"Trying to make a...parachute out of it or something in case we...meet a waterfall...or something?" Flash replied weakly, his weak attempt at humor only made Robin want to throw back an angry retort. It was only when he saw the exhausted look on the Speedster's face that the young hero's remark became softer and more urgent.

"Just do it! Please, I can't do it myself!" Robin cried weakly, he was losing all feeling within his body, as if he were turning into stone. Flash obeyed and managed to pull off the small cape from the young hero, who undid the knot on it with his injured hand. The absence of Robin's cape left him feeling more exposed somehow. At least he could keep his head above water much easier now without the extra weight. Robin continued, "Now rip it into four equally thin pieces." The next few moments were filled with sounds of fabric being torn apart.

"Now what?" The Speedster awaited orders like a lieutenant.

"Knot them together so it becomes a rope." Robin answered, his body fighting in vain against the cold. Flash tied each strip together, one end connected to the other. He almost dropped the strips altogether since they were so wet and slippery. Robin continued, "First thing we see that looks helpful, throw the rope over it and grab the other end so we can hang on to it."

"Like what?" The Speedster was struggling to follow what the young hero was saying.

"If you see something like a pipe hanging over us, throw the rope over it," Robin explained patiently.

"Got it," Flash nodded. That was easier said than done.

They floated for a while until a pipe came into their sight. Flash tried throwing the makeshift rope over it so he could pull Robin and himself out of the water, but missed and barely managed to grab the rope before it was lost to the water. Several minutes of waiting brought another pipe in their way. Flash tried throwing the rope, but the pipe was too high up for the other end of the rope to hang down long enough to be pulled. The third pipe that came by was too weak and collapsed into the water with the two heroes when they tried pulling on it. Flash tried to grab a hold of their makeshift rope, but he only felt his hand graze the fabric once before it was lost to the current and swallowed up by the darkness.

"Well this is just great," Flash replied sarcastically, a tiny amount of worry crept into his voice as well.

A shiver ran down Robin's spine and started to make him tingle. He was starting to lose sensation in his injured hand, which would have been good if he wasn't trapped in the water. Robin shuddered, "Flash. How long have we been floating for?"

"Don't know. Maybe twenty-thirty minutes tops?" Flash offered. His tone shifted into one with a little more humor in it, "Any other bright ideas before we either A, finally become hero-sicles or B, get turned into Robin and Flash flavored-chum?"

"Chum is for sharks..." Robin gasped as his body started fading more and more.

"I'll take that as a no then." Flash replied calmly, but turned away so Robin wouldn't see his worried look and start losing hope.

"Blue."

Flash looked at the young hero in confusion. "What?"

"Blue." Robin repeated a little louder. "My favorite color. You asked what it was earlier. It's blue."

A smile crept onto Flash's face at the tidbit he was given. It was just a useless attempt at conversation, but it seems with Batman out of the way, Robin tried-and often failed- to express himself more positively. Maybe simple questions would help Robin stay focused. It could help distract the kid from the cold all around them, and maybe even the dangers that they couldn't see.

"What's your favorite food?" Flash threw at Robin.

Robin bit his lower lip for a few moments before responding. "Anything that isn't really fancy...like...like pesto with linguine."

"That's not fancy?" Flash looked at the young hero curiously.

"It's just ground basil with walnuts, garlic, salt and cheese in it. Anyone could make it." Robin explained.

"Ever try it with tomato sauce?" Flash asked. "Good for athletes."

"I did when I was younger but..." Robin paused, trying to find the right words. "I don't like the color red."

"Why not?" Flash asked. He felt a little more self-conscious as he asked the next question. "Is it because of my costume?"

You could almost hear a pin drop with Robin's quiet response. "It's the color of blood..." Flash flinched visibly, mentally kicking himself for not being more careful. That Bats must have made him watch some messed up shit if Robin couldn't enjoy a simple color that much. Why would a child have to automatically think of blood whenever they saw something red? But as Flash gazed at Robin's costume, he couldn't help adding,

"But your costume's red-"

"I wear it to remind myself of that." Robin responded even more quietly than before. The silence between the two was pure agony on Flash's part. He couldn't help but pull Robin closer to him, as if trying to share some body heat, or attempt to express some form of comfort for the boy. Whatever Flash's reason was, Robin thought, he decided to trust the Speedster completely now. His legs started becoming numb with cold, he could barely feel them right now. Thank goodness he was wearing pants this time around, otherwise, he might have started catching hypothermia by now. Robin couldn't even feel something bumping into his legs that felt hard and scaly. He didn't feel the the teeth that grazed across one of his legs, tempted to take a bite. But he did see a gray figure in the water underneath him, sharp-yellow eyes looking up at him with great interest. In one of the creature's hands was something that looked metallic, with the appearance of being broken off from something much larger. Before Robin could react, he felt strong arms drag his body underwater with Flash shouting frantically above.

* * *

Batman wasn't angry. He wasn't worried either. Afraid was definitely not in his dictionary either. Why would he be feeling any of these things right now? Batman was supposed to be an unemotional creature of the night. Striking fear into the hearts of criminals. Bruce Wayne, however, was a different story. He was mad at Dick for risking his life twice already on the same night; once for running off for whatever reason was in his head at the time, and once for letting Croc drag him into the water.

Superman could hear Batman's heartbeat go at a more rapid pace and knew that this didn't come from the running. Hawkgirl flew close by, her mace in hand in preparation for battle. The Kryptonian didn't know much about her to begin with, but he knew that she must be thinking of Flash at the moment. He wondered if Flash would react the same way if Hawkgirl were ever in this kind of danger.

Green Lantern and Diana shared a look of concern with one another as they watched Batman's pace. It was almost like seeing a mother bear protecting her young. The fact that he was able to keep up with Superman was frightening enough.

Bruce Wayne couldn't do anything to the criminal without authorities or the public judging him, but Batman was already thinking up several ways to torture Killer Croc for causing this in the first place. He was already imagining how he would tell Dick that he couldn't be Robin anymore. How he would tell the boy that he wasn't meant to fight criminals. That it was too dangerous for him to put his life on the line. What was he thinking?! Letting the boy do something like this! And with Flash too! Might as well be merging the Joker with Darkseid.

With each step, Batman imagined Killer Croc's scaly neck being throttled. Imagined hearing the beast cry-no, roar for mercy. It helped him from losing it down in the sewers. His mind was so occupied with these thoughts that Batman barely noticed J'onn flying up towards him, keeping his distance from the frantic Dark Knight.

"I am trying to communicate with Flash telepathically right now," J'onn calmly stated to Batman. When the grim hero refused to reply, J'onn continued. "I can understand how you are feeling right now. Not knowing whether or not a loved one is safe. The feeling of helplessness whenever you do not know where to find them. Wanting to do everything you can to-"

"I'm not worried," Batman glared at the Martian threateningly, "I'm furious with Robin disobeying orders _again. _When we get back to the Batcave, I'm planning on benching Robin indefinitely. His incompetence is-"

"A figment of your subconscious to avoid dealing with your emotions. But if there is one thing you should know, its that incompetence is something you should _never_ use to describe a child." J'onn interjected, his expression becoming more fierce as he said this for a few brief moments before it softened somewhat. "But whoever you are mad at, it is not him."

"Don't you have a Speedster to find?" Batman growled threateningly. He didn't feel comfortable with the look J'onn just threw at him. It wasn't fear, it was more like discomfort, as if he had said something bad in what was originally a decent conversation.

J'onn sighed and focused his thoughts on the Speedster. His mind was always the hardest to keep track of. There were just so many thoughts bouncing around, it was a wonder how Flash was able to concentrate on his work. The maze of tunnels wasn't doing much to help either. A flicker of Flash's subconscious made itself known. He seemed to be...occupied with something. A brief image of Killer Croc and Robin flailing around in the water came into view. The echo of the thought wasn't faint, it was close!

_"I've found them." _J'onn sent his thoughts to everyone else nearby as the echoing tunnels made it hard to hear one another easily.

"Where's Robin?" Batman asked quietly.

"They are not far from here." J'onn continued, trying to avoid answering the question. He flew up to Superman and spoke to him. "Superman, can you hear something?"

Batman directed the question towards Superman this time. "Where. Is. Robin?"

Superman stopped in mid-flight as he perked up his ears. Each second, his expression became grimmer as he made out the sounds as best as he could. When the Kryptonian finally spoke, he sounded like an old man. "Get a shield ready, John."

* * *

He managed to take a deep breath beforehand and held it while he struggled with Killer Croc. Robin threw a punch at the criminal, but Croc had already moved out of the way before the fist even came close to him. Recalling Batman's warnings about Killer Croc's swimming abilities, Robin struggled to keep his eyes on the criminal. He saw movement and lashed out, trying to grab a hold of something. A tail lashed out at his cheek and left Robin dazed for a moment.

He felt a thick fist crash into his stomach, releasing any oxygen Robin was able to hold. Now things were becoming problematic, he could see Flash trying to reach out for Robin, only to be swatted aside by a large tail. He tried reaching for the...surface, but Killer Croc...dragged him...down further into the depths of...the water. Robin squirmed, forgetting all of his...training as his lungs began...to protest. He kicked and punched...the scaly...skin, but the blows had little to no...effect on Croc.

Then Robin felt his neck being grabbed by those horrible, clawed hands of his. Squeezing...at his...windpipe, bubbles...of air gushing...out of Robin's mouth. This wasn't supposed...to be how...Robin imagined dying. Not...here, in the...sewers. Another...meal...for Killer Croc to feast...upon. Not found...until hours later as...waste. His last...moments looking...into those...yellow eyes...those...yellow...eyes...eyes!

Without thinking...Robin jabbed Killer Croc in the eyes and was thrown aside...as the creature roared in pain...the sounds...muffled by the...water. Another...pair...of arms...wound...themselves...around...his...torso...too...weak...to...fight...them. Air...returned to...his lungs as...the surface broke. Robin gasps rapidly, gulping down the cold air despite how foul it smells. He tried fighting the arms holding him, but Robin relaxed when he heard a familiar voice asking in a teasing voice,

"What? You wanna be fish food tonight or something? I'd be happy to help you with that."

Robin chuckled weakly as Flash gently dropped him down the concrete floor, "Maybe some other time, I guess." Robin scanned the area around him, their location didn't look exactly narrow, and there were recent signs of activity, judging by the marks on the walls-some of it looked more like drawings that actual graffiti-and there were a few things forgotten like a broken yo-yo or an empty flour sack.

Flash was looking down at Robin when he stopped eyeing their location. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, do you?"

"I wouldn't." Robin sighed. That old lady wasn't kidding when she said that there were people living down here, but this didn't exactly look man-made either...

Robin's hand twitched and he yelped with pain again. Flash looked sympathetic. "How're you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," Robin replied sarcastically before seeing the serious look on Flash's face, "I'll be alright in a few moments. How about you?"

"I've felt worse," the Speedster grinned weakly, his visible chin looked more pale than usual. When Flash turned away, Robin noticed a rather large cut on his cheek.

Just then, the surface of the water broke again, Killer Croc leaping up with his teeth bared, both arms holding a large boulder over his head. Now that the creature had stopped moving so much, Robin could take in the view that was before him. And he realized that what they say about things looking different in real life was true. Killer Croc stood at least a head shorter than Grundy did-and that zombie was at least ten feet tall!-but he seemed more menacing than his accomplice was. The skin wasn't really gray, more of a pale white, it was almost blinding. Croc's body wasn't really covered with scales at all, his skin looked so worn, it was like looking at layers and layers of sagging skin. His nails were long and sharp, reach two inches from out the fingers. The only attire that Croc bothered to wear was a pair of ratty-looking pants that had seen better days. And then there was his head; it was long but flat-looking. His ears were visible, pointed at the tips, giving off the resemblance of an elf. His eyes were dripping with blood, his feet directing the creature towards Robin. Flash tried to dash at him, only to trip and fall to the ground.

"Low on energy, right," Flash grumbled weakly, "Starting to regret saving your life, kid."

"Don't be." Robin smirked. He slowly pulled himself off the ground. "I can take him."

Despite Flash's cry of protest, Robin dashed at Killer Croc. His opponent threw the boulder at Robin with tremendous force, but Robin was able to roll out of the way in time before the mass crushed him. He felt a little wobbly as he got up, trying to remind himself not to do too much so quickly out of the cold water. When they were more than ten feet from each other, Robin leaped up into the air and kicked Killer Croc right in the head. As Croc stumbled, Robin used the momentum from his jump to push off of the creature, pushing him off balance.

He turned his head to gaze at Croc, grinning in satisfaction. Robin's grin faded when he saw the criminal turn around and charge at him again. He tried to cartwheel out of the way, but his legs jolted from numbness and brought Robin to the ground. As Croc continued to charge at him, Robin managed to slide between his opponent's legs, catching Croc off guard. But he felt a large foot swing at his face and began to see stars. Something wet also started to drip from his mouth that tasted metallic.

Great.

As Robin hit the wall in front of him, an idea came to him. He turned around, faced Killer Croc's back and yelled,

"Hey, Croc. I heard that people love to eat guys like you down South. Can you clarify that for me?"

Killer Croc faced the young hero, his gray face growing a dirty red now. He roared, "You've made a fool out of me for the last time! I'll crush your body with a rock and then we'll see who's laughing!"

"Not you, that's for sure. Don't you ever think that maybe you should reexamine your lifestyle a bit?" Robin continued taunting, circling Killer Croc as if he were prey. He paused, feigning surprise. "Oh wait! You don't think, do you? It's always 'rock this' and 'rock that' with you."

That last comment threw Killer Croc on edge. He charged at the young hero, unaware of the smirk already on his face. Just like before, Robin leaped into the air before Croc got too close, and pushed himself off the creature and heard a loud CRASH! as his opponent collided with the wall in front of him. Robin cheered loudly until he saw Killer Croc turn around again, his eyes looking off into different directions. As Robin got into a fighting stance, Killer Croc collapsed onto the ground, unable to fight any longer.

Flash didn't look convinced though, "You sure he's not faking it?"

"Doubt it," Robin replied, "I've been told that this guy is lacking in the brains department." He frowned, remembering how easy it was for him to get lured away from the others. Since when did Croc actually think ahead? Batman always mentioned how hard it was to fight the criminal, but never mentioned anything about Croc being a strategist. It just didn't add up.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Flash offered.

"This doesn't make sense." Robin answered. "How-and more importantly-_why_ would Croc want to do something this complicated. He teamed up with another blockhead from the un-dead, stole some random lady's cat, and used it as bait just to drag me into the water. Right?"

Flash suddenly remembered the voice that came from the microchip off of Mrs. Rose's fur. And the voice that he briefly heard come from the small device. "Robin, there's actually a funny story about that..."

"Meow!"

Both heroes looked down at the source of the noise to find the orange cat-the cause of all of their current trouble-looking up at them innocently with something wrapped around her neck. Robin bent down to examine the object more closely before a noise broke out from it, making both heroes jump. Whatever Robin was expecting from the microchip, it wasn't the sound of distorted laughter coming out of it.

_"Bravo, young man. Bravo indeed. I wasn't expecting you to beat Croc-let alone, have that Speedster come to the rescue-but this just made things much more interesting. And here I'd thought you wouldn't be much of a problem at all. One would only look at tonight's fiasco with Grundy for basic proof. This evening has been very enriching indeed..."_

"Who the heck are you?" Robin growled while Flash muttered into the background,

"I don't think we can expect a straightforward answer from this person, Robin. You've seen those James Bond movies, right?"

_"Your impulsive friend is correct...Robin was it? What's the point of giving you all of the answers straight away? A hunter never gives away the element of surprise. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon...unless this little crocodile has other plans..."_

As the voice faded out, Flash heard something beeping behind him and turned around to find Croc stirring slightly as a metal collar made itself known. There was a small face that Flash could barely make out, reading **00:00:30:52.**

"Rob! Duck and cover!" Flash shouted behind him as he rushed over to Croc and started to pry the collar off as best as he could, but his strength just wouldn't return to him at all. The collar was a dull silver color. There were lines indicating where the collar was attached, but no keyhole or anything! If only he could just vibrate through the collar enough to take it off. His body shivered at the feeble attempt before Flash collapsed with complete exhaustion onto the damp stone. He felt a clawed hand grab at his arm weakly and looked up.

"Don't take it off." Croc said weakly. "He said...if I kept it on when it hit zero...I'd be all better."

"Better?!" Flash sputtered. "This thing is going to kill you, you'll be splattered all over the place. How would this make you _better_? Whatever that means!"

"He said it would make my condition go away." Croc continued to speak as if uninterrupted. Tears were already welling around his yellow eyes. "Promised me a cure if I followed his orders."

"What condition are you talking about?" Flash demanded. "Who hired you?"

A blue blur suddenly went in front of the Speedster and pushed him back several feet in the process. Flash looked over his shoulder to see Robin sigh with relief. Guess Superman being anywhere would make a child feel safe no matter what.

"He was born like this." The now present Man of Steel explained as he tried to pry at the collar around Croc's neck. "It's a skin condition from birth!"

"You serious?!" Flash was bewildered now as he kept Robin from moving closer. Why did Gotham get all of the crazies? Why couldn't these people cause problems for the ones that deserved it?

"Yes, I am." Several moments later, there was a _crack!_ and the metal collar was sent flying into the air before a green aura surrounded it. Superman flew to Flash and Robin to use his body as a shield when a muffled sound came from the green bubble. Robin dared to look up and saw the green aura growing larger as the explosion within became more and more distinct until it was replaced by billowing smoke.

"That was close." A gruff voice from behind spoke up. "Didn't think I could hold it for that much longer. Good work, Superman."

Green Lantern flew in from the shadows, his ring glowing as bright as a Christmas tree as he landed softly onto the hard pavement.

"Hey, we took down Croc! Where's our medal of honor?" Flash protested weakly before looking down at Robin's face and relented. "Alright, _Robin_ took down Croc. But I did save him a few times."

"I don't care if he did all that with his hands tied behind his back." Holy Crap! How can that guy always creep up without making a sound? "He could have gotten killed."

Robin looked indignant. "I didn't choose to fight-"

"Don't you dare argue with me, young man!" Batman cut him off as he came into the young hero's view. Robin found himself being pulled out of Flash's protective embrace and suddenly felt his vision become dazed as a lump on his head swelled up from the unexpected blow.

Batman was definitely going into lecture-mode now, ignoring the frozen look on Flash's face as well as the glowering Superman. "If you _ever_ do something that stupid again-"

"Robin, what happened to your hand?" Superman pushed Batman aside and took a hold of Robin's injured arm. As gentle as he was, he could still hear Robin yelp in pain as he touched it gingerly. Superman concentrated until he could see the bones detailed inside of the boy's hand. Robin glared at the man as if betrayed, clearly damning his X-ray vision. Superman looked down at the hand again, examining the bones. They've been injured for some time, a few hours at most. The hairline cracks weren't pretty to look at, but it could be a lot worse.

He kept his voice level, his expression non-threatening, but it just seemed to make the boy want to back away more and more with guilt. "Robin, I just asked you a question. What happened?"

Robin looked away and mumbled something unintelligent under his breath. Superman sighed to himself at the answer; technically he was partially to blame for the injury. He forgot than Robin wasn't interacting with anyone considering the bad introductions he just demonstrated. He was just so focused on confronting Batman about...this.

"Speak. Up." Why doesn't Bruce realize that he shouldn't use his interrogation voice right now?

"I...punched a wall back at the Watchtower and didn't tell anyone about it." Robin spoke a little louder this time. He ignored the looks that were thrown his way; from Batman's 'You should have told me' look, to Green Lantern shaking his head with disbelief to Diana's disapproving frown.

"Why?" Superman was the only person that didn't make him wish Croc didn't eat him.

Robin looked down on the floor. "I thought I'd have to leave if anyone knew."

"Not telling anyone of an injury could compromise not just your safety, but the safety of your teammates as well." Batman roughly took a hold of Robin's free arm. Robin held back a yelp that was crawling up his throat and begging to be let out.

"I knew about the injury too!" Flash protested. He cowered a little when some of the glares were directed his way. He never expected Hawkgirl to look at him with such disappointment, maybe he should have told someone. Batman's glare he could take on any day with a brave face, but Hawkgirl was another story altogether.

"Flash, how could you keep this from us?" Flash tried to ignore the worry that was creeping into Hawkgirl's typically placid voice. "It could have been something worse! You should have told someone instead of keeping secrets for that kid's sake! Robin could have made the injury worse!"

"So you _do_ care." Flash couldn't help the smirk that was forming on his lips. He looked back at Robin and felt the smile fade away like snow on a hot day.

"Whatever, let's just get the hell out of here."

"I'm taking Robin home now." Batman began pulling Robin with him. Robin tried pulling back until he saw the glare thrown at him that gave no room for argument.

"Will we see Rob again soon?" Flash asked hopelessly. He didn't want to leave Robin alone with Batman for company.

"We'll see. He just needs some medical treatment first." Superman replied as he took Robin out of Batman's grasp and started flying off. Batman opened his mouth as if to argue against Superman's help, but Superman gave the man a hard look that seemed to make Batman shut up. "Batman, maybe you should go back and collect the bombs we disarmed."

Batman directed his glare at Superman first, then at Robin. "When I get back, you and I will be having a little talk." Robin could only nod weakly before retreating into the confines of Superman's cape. For warmth or for comfort, no one would be certain.

"Some debut for our new teammate, huh, John?" Robin saw Flash grin weakly at Green Lantern as Superman slowly rose into the air, preparing for takeoff.

"He's not our teammate." Robin could hear Green Lantern's response clearly. As he felt wind pressing against his cheeks from the slowly increasing speed from flight, he swore he thought he also heard something worse...

"And he never will be..."

**Thank you all for your patience. I am so sorry for the late update. Please remember to give nice, long reviews. I want to get some actual critique so I can improve my story telling. If you want to point out the things that are bad, please do. I want to hear what can be fixed in the future, rather than what was just good. Are there some questions that you want to ask? Suggestions? Please tell me, I really look forward to hearing other ideas because they help me do better in later chapters. Happy Readings!**


	9. Chapter 8: Cold Reception

**Author's** **Note**: I'd like to thank **NightAster**, **The Shadow Keeper**, and **africaflower77** for reviewing. From your responses, I take it that Robin isn't sounding like a brat at all? I'm glad to know that you are enjoying this story and its realistic approach...well, as realistic as you can get in DC at least with feathered women and guys dressed in blue flying around like nobody's business.

I know you said this before, **africaflower77**, but I just wanted to say a few things about the story in general to explain why Batman is pretty harsh with Robin. As a comic book fan, I kind of hate what DC has turned the Dark Knight into. And there have been several suggestions that I have Bruce and Dick share a father/son moment. But I'm just trying to keep Batman in character at the moment because he isn't exactly a Daddybats. At all.

He wasn't good at the parenting thing when Dick came into his life, so any fears he had would end up being channeled negatively, as you all saw last chapter. In other words, he cares about Dick at LOT, but has a horrible way of showing it properly. Hence, the lack of Daddybats because that would be out of character and my intention is to keep the Justice League...in character and more realistic in regards to meeting a kid who one of their colleagues claims that will be working alongside them from now on.

But I was trying to show the more concerned side of Batman in the last chapter where he almost shouted Dick's name in horror around the beginning when Croc attacked. Superman was originally supposed to have that reaction, but then I realized that I needed to make Batman a little more sympathetic somehow. On to the story then.

On the side note, thank you so much for taking the time to check out my story, **Anthezar**, and I will do my best to apply your advice to the best of my abilities. I strive to do better with my writing.

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Warning as this is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Cold Reception**

Richard's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, his slow breathing occasionally interrupted by a sudden spasm that turned into a cough or two. From a distance, he looked very peaceful, a feeling that should be occurring more often these days. His face a rosy pink color, something Bruce might have thought-dare he say it-a little cute if the circumstances were different. Thank God it was just a cold instead of hypothermia, if only Richard-the nerve of that idiot!-wasn't foolish enough to let Killer Croc drag him into the water in the first place, then he wouldn't need a few days' bed rest like Alfred ordered not even two hours ago. He should have known that something like that should have happened! What was that boy thinking?!

Why didn't he protest to the boy going into the sewer?! They all knew that was where Croc went, and Batman knew from experience that even a dimwit like Croc would still be a threat. Was he just that eager to catch him and send him back to Arkham that he let his common sense take a backseat? And now because of his thoughtlessness and Richard's carelessness, Alfred had ordered at least a few days' bed rest and _insisted_ that any training plans be postponed until the boy was better.

What was the big deal? Dick should just get over it or at least deal with it for the time being during training, not deal with being treated like a baby all of the time. Bruce dealt with worse things than a cold, it wouldn't do Richard any good to be pampered all of the time. He was almost a teenager and needed to grow up. There had to be someone to keep that kid until control. Alfred wasn't as young as he used to be, nor did it seem like Richard listened to him that well. That's where Batman finally stepped in. Bruce Wayne couldn't keep Richard Grayson under control, he was too flighty and weak minded. Too afraid to even stay in the same room with a child who has been living under his roof for nearly seven years.

But Batman was disciplined. He could strike fear into the most heartless of criminals. He commanded respect from men and women who have seen the gates of Hell and lived to tell the tale. And he tolerated no nonsense whatsoever from anybody. Not only could he keep Richard under control, but Robin too. Too much energy within one person, let alone that boy, wasn't needed for their area of work. While it meant more stamina than Batman could ever have in an hour, Richard needed to learn control and discipline.

But every time Batman reprimanded, Richard would simply run off and complain to Clark. No wait, _Uncle _Clark! By the time he located both of them, Richard would make it out that _Bruce_ was the bad guy, the one who should be treated with hostility. Just like he did _yet again_ tonight. He should have just taken Bruce's lecture like a man instead of backing away like a frightened animal. Instead, Clark "swooped" to that kid's rescue by sending him up to bed while he tried to explain what Richard told him on the way back to the Manor while Bruce was gathering the remaining bombs that everyone else disarmed and have the Batplane pick him up when he reached the surface.

Good God, he had to do _everything _around here, didn't he? Bruce would have asked the Flash to collect them for him, but the look that he was receiving from the younger-and apparently, famished-man while Hawkgirl supported his limp body made Bruce rethink his request. It was a little disconcerting to see the Flash throw something even similar to a glare in _his_ direction, or at anyone at all.

He already had several of the disarmed explosives with him at the time he started scavenging for the rest, but without Clark to help speed up the process and with the rest of the League back on the Watchtower recuperating from their exertion from the night, Batman was left alone to collect the rest.

By the time he had returned to the Batcave, Alfred had just finished wrapping Robin's fractured hand into a cast. For once, the boy had looked up when Batman was more than twenty feet away from him instead of less than two inches, possibly a sign that he was getting better at detecting someone's presence without looking first. On the other hand, being in the sewer for an extended period of time didn't exactly leave you smelling like a bouquet of roses. More like a basket of rotten fruit covered with flies. Alfred wrinkled his nose in disgust and tried to direct Batman towards the washroom only to be brushed aside by a single look. Batman hated to use his glare on any ally of his, but Robin was overdue for a lecture.

But part of him felt that it was more or less of a disaster.

He couldn't even remember what he was saying or even where it had gone wrong. It started off decently enough, he seemed to have been holding the boy's attention well enough all things considered. Robin wasn't speaking out this time, that meant that he knew he deserved this. It was always like this whenever they talked, Batman would point out what Robin was doing wrong and the boy would comply with his wishes. In the end, there was no yelling and always the promise to do better. Everyone was happy.

But then it started going downhill somehow; was it when he mentioned putting the Flash in danger that Robin started to back away from him like an undesirable? Was the filth finally starting to get to the boy so much that he wanted some breathing room? Was it when Batman raised his arm to point at him that their discussion started to go off track? Whatever the reason was, Clark-the _genius_ that he is-stepped in and ended that conversation altogether. Alfred then mentioned something about getting the boy cleaned up and checking for anymore injuries before whisking himself and Robin upstairs presumably to ready the boy for bed.

Speaking of which...

He could already feel that fool behind him before he started talking. Not like it was that difficult to do, anyhow. Man of Steel, Feet of Rock might be the appropriate term to refer to Clark's stealth abilities.

"The way you were handling yourself _and_ Dick back there wasn't right."

Bruce was not in the mood for this conversation right now. "What part of '_I'm his father_' did you not understand back on the Watchtower, Clark?"

"No, Bruce-" Dear Lord, when would Clark understand when he should just shut up?! -"You're not his father, you're his _legal guardian,_ both terms have different meanings!"

"Do they now?" Clark's right eye twitch with irritation. Sarcasm was always Bruce's best weapon to use against Clark in these types of arguments because it gave off an aura of '_What you say has no meaning whatsoever_'. It almost makes Bruce smile with satisfaction. Almost. "I am in charge of Richard's welfare, he lives in my home, I pay for his tuition at Gotham Academy, and the judge stated that I would be taking on the role of the _parent_ by taking Richard in as you should be well aware of." This was an old argument by now, and the words that Bruce used were always the same. Because what he was saying was one-hundred percent correct; he was in charge of Richard's welfare, he was therefore a parent. But Clark was never satisfied with that answer at all.

"But that doesn't make you-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Clark, it's been a long night and I still have work to do."

"What kind of work?!" Jesus, Kent! Was he trying to wake up Alfred and Richard?! "It's almost 2 in the morning and you have to get to work by 8."

"First of all, those bombs from the sewers weren't exactly homemade. I need to figure out where they came from so I can start working on _who_ was responsible for orchestrating that attack in the first place. Secondly, I only need-"

"Ten minutes' worth of sleep, I know, Bruce." Clark must find some kind of amusement in irritating Bruce with that eye-roll of his, considering how he did it a lot. Leave it to the man raised in Smallville, Kansas to use over-dramatic gestures. "And forget about those bombs, it's not worth your time. Th-"

"May I remind you that we barely managed to stop a potential _terrorist_ attack not even three hours ago and that the one responsible for the attempt may try again. I need look into those explosives in order to locate-"

"They were duds!"

As a creature of the night, Bruce understood what it meant to be silent. Silence meant that you couldn't be detected that easily, or be detected at all. Great for ambush tactics. It also helped Bruce focus on his work more easily. But the silence that just broke in was so sudden and so precise that-God forgive the use of that cliched phrase!-you could hear a pin drop. Or a batarang if he wanted to be _slightly_ humorous.

"What?" What was Clark talking about?

"Duds. The explosives aside from the one around Croc's neck." Clark took the expression on Bruce's face differently and frowned. "Meaning that they weren't going to _explode_." It was the emphasis on the last word that helped Bruce find his voice again.

"I know what it means." Of course he did, but Bruce was having a hard time comprehending what he just heard. _Duds_? They were splitting up into that foul sewer in order to find inactive bombs?! He kept on repeating that word in his head over and over again, hoping that something would make sense, but to no avail. He knew what it meant, it meant that whoever was responsible for planting those fakes in the first place simply sent the League on a wild goose chase, possibly for laughs.

It mean that whoever was responsible might have been trying to separate the team into smaller, more manageable groups to deal with instead of all at once, clever considering how Clark can't see through lead anyways and would never see a potential ambush coming until it was too late. It meant that while the League was focused on dealing with a false lead, innocent lives would be left unprotected. It meant that Richard would have been killed-

"..."

"Now do you understand what I meant?" Clark was starting to sound a bit like Alfred. Of course he knew, the bombs were duds. Someone's twisted version for fun, not unlike the Joker. But that didn't mean Bruce could reply. Dumbstruck was the right word to describe what he was feeling right now. All he could do was look into Richard's room and gaze at his sleeping form, his eyes intensely focused on the top of his head where an ice pack was placed recently on. He faintly remembered the feeling of his hand crashing down onto Robin's head. And when he finally found his voice again, it felt more like a faint whisper as he forced the words to come out.

"I need to check the video footage on Arkham. See where and how Killer Croc and Grundy escaped in the first place..."

"You're upset with yourself. Maybe you should wake Dick up and-"

"No, the footage might help tell us if Croc and Grundy had outside help..."

It took great effort for Bruce to walk normally, but he had to give a show of strength to make up for his weak voice. It didn't do good to show weakness even among...allies. All he wanted to do right now was sink into the safety of darkness and never come out again...

* * *

Clark stayed where he was as he listened to the sound of Bruce's footsteps grow somewhat fainter. Thank Rao for those damned ears of his, at least they were good for ensuring some privacy somehow. It wasn't until the noise of Bruce's feet vanished completely as he entered into the Batcave that Clark finally spoke up.

"It's ok, Dick. Bruce's down in the cave now. You can drop the act now."

Dick opened his eyes, exposing his apparent sleep to be nothing more than an act. Alfred always insisted that Dick spend his time working in theater rather than a dark cave underneath the house. Minutes passed as uncle and nephew looked at each other silently in the semi-darkness, the bedroom only letting a small amount of light through the open door. Dick finally broke the silence, his voice no higher than a whisper.

"He's mad at me."

"No he isn't." Clark chided him softly, like a parent reassuring their child of a monster than wasn't there. "Bruce was just worried, that's all. He just-"

"Has a bad way of showing it." Dick finished Clark's statement, imitating the older man's voice almost perfectly while adding a slight Southern accent into his voice. Clark sighed at this; Bruce relied on sarcasm, Dick relied on parodying Clark's voice, the only way the boy expressed frustration with his godfather.

"I don't agree with how he expressed it either, Dick. But that doesn't excuse the injury you were hiding. You're lucky it'll take a few weeks for your hand to heal instead of a few months."

Dick gingerly lifted up the hand in question, now wrapped in a small cast giving the impression of a mummy. At least Alfred didn't give him a hard time about it like Bruce did. "Nurse first, questions later" was Alfred's way of handling problems. When Dick asked about the old man's way of handling things, Alfred explained that it gives people time to calm down before they do something irrational or let their emotions control them. If only that were true with Bruce...

"Dick, why didn't you tell anyone about your injury?" Clark was clearly trying to be straight to the point now.

Why didn't he tell anyone about his hand? Flash knew, but he must have figured that it would have been better if the truth came from Dick directly instead of someone else. At least, he _thinks_ that was why Flash didn't say anything, he only knew the hero for a few hours. For all Dick knew, he might have been talking to someone no better than the Joker.

Then again, he might be overthinking things at the moment. If the Flash really was like the Joker, he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of keeping Dick safe on the opposite side of town, right? Uncle Clark once described him as a little annoying and more of a goofball, but that was also the reason why Dick was taunting the Flash in the first place. It was meant to be a form of friendly teasing, but he clearly needed to work on what he says. In the end, Dick couldn't help but want to beg to see the Flash again, but he doubted he would be able to see the man for at least a few days at the moment. Not in his "condition", as Alfred stated outright.

Then he thought back to the previous week, his _first_ week, where he started to get a taste of what Gotham crime was like. Drug-dealers, small-time crooks, gang members, anything that would be considered small fry to Batman. There were a few times where Dick felt overwhelmed as Robin when he exchanged blows with those types of criminals. Obviously, though, he hasn't seen the worst that the city had to offer yet.

After what...happened...Bruce was obviously adamant against Dick facing someone from his-_their_-gallery until he was ready. Dick wasn't sure when Bruce would consider him "ready", but he had doubts about facing Poison Ivy or the Riddler anytime soon. Croc was just a fluke this evening and Bruce would be against leaving him by himself in that Watchtower.

The few times that Dick learned that Bruce had received an injury that would have caused a great deal of pain from even their basic patrols-left shoulder, cracked rib or two, ...groin-he would scratch his head over what Alfred was saying, maybe even think that the old man was getting...old. Every time he saw Bruce get hit, he noticed how the man always seemed to brush off whatever pain he was feeling. Part of him wondered if Bruce was somehow invulnerable to pain recently. So when he punched the wall back on the Watchtower and felt pain, he figured...

"I guess if Bruce could deal with the pain..." Dick looked down at his bed sheets, embarrassment flooded his cheeks. Maybe he should have let someone know about the injury when he had the chance.

_I'd say like father, like son, but I know that it's not even remotely true._ Clark pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have remembered that Dick would have no doubt picked up a few things from Bruce over the years. Of all the things that Dick had to imitate from his guardian, stubbornness was the last thing that Clark expected him to pick up.

Now he had to fix this somehow. He started talking in a calm but stern voice, his "lecturing voice" reserved only for Kara when he wants her to listen carefully and usually Dick too on the days that he's able to come to Gotham.

"Dick...just because Bruce does something...doesn't make him a smart man for doing it. I admit that he knows more than an encyclopedia at times, but being great at something-in this case for Bruce being intelligent-it can lead to pride, which can lead to mistakes, which can lead to fear-"

"'_Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hates leads to suffering'." _Dick interrupted suddenly with his Yoda impersonation before breaking into giggles. Clark smiled in spite of himself, he _did_ set himself up for that one, before proceeding to chuckle along too. Maybe he could use it to his advantage for this discussion.

"Exactly, Dick, one action can lead to another action with negative consequences that you would never have expected. Like Bruce valuing knowledge; he wants to be the best at what he does, but it sometimes leads him to places so far that he can't remember how he got to where he was in the first place. In this case, it can lead to him being stubborn. While it's okay to be stubborn with some things, being a pushover in life can put you into danger-"

"But what about you, Uncle Clark?" Dick cut him off again, the last of his giggles subsiding. "Isn't that what _you_ make other people think? That you're a pushover?"

"Close. I make them think that I'm not that important, but it doesn't make me a pushover. You have to remember that I'm a reporter too, we're not known for being easy to get along with sometimes." Dick's expression darkened at the word, "reporter", and Clark mentally kicked himself for saying that. Doesn't Dick have to deal with the paparazzi on an almost regular basis in Gotham?

"Okay, _maybe _I can be a bit of a pushover to some people like your Aunt Lois." He had to redirect the conversation to a different location before Dick started blocking out his words. "My point, Dick, is that you need to keep an eye on what choices you make. Everything has a consequence and I'm just thankful you didn't hurt your hand too much."

Dick thought carefully about what Uncle Clark was saying to him. He was doing what Bruce attempted back down in the cave, reprimand him. And yet, he did it in a way that wasn't harsh and meant to be viewed as something educational. Unbidden, the image of Uncle Clark back at the Watchtower protesting Dick's induction into the League flooded his mind and then he realized what the whole point of the conversation was.

"But you wish I didn't have to hurt myself in the first place, or get hurt period."

Clark sighed deeply. "Yes."

"Does this mean you'll call Child Services or something and claim guardianship over me?" Dick's tone was more fearful now.

"I don't see any good out of doing that at the moment. And I doubt that the people in CS will be eager to let you stay with either me or Bruce while we duke it out in court for whatever reasons they can think of."

"So not yet?"

"Not unless we can avoid any worse-case scenarios."

"Are you going to try and stop me from crime-fighting altogether?"

"I think the real question is: do you _want_ to stop crime-fighting altogether?" Please, dear Rao, say no and end this night on a happy note-

"I'm not sure..."

Clark just _had_ to get his nephew to understand without intimidating him; this wasn't the life for him, not at all. "Dick, I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to, but I also want you to see the big picture. You're going out every night-"

"Four to five nights a week, actually-"

"Same difference. And you're basically running around and beating people up until Batman tells you to stop. Sooner or later, he'll start to get more comfortable with letting you face other kinds of criminals that are more on his level. And I'm not talking about any of his rogues, there are different kinds of evil that no eleven year old should have to face."

"Harry Potter faced all kinds of evil when he was eleven and no one really got mad at him for doing so." Dick protested softly.

"That's because his 'legal guardians' didn't care whether or not he lived or died, he already faced evils that he shouldn't have had to see at his age, and Harry's a fictional character, so I wouldn't suggest using him as a reference." Clark countered with a small grin. "But I care about whether or not you end up getting hurt. So does Lois. So does Alfred. So do Ma and Pa. So does Kara. So does Bruce, even though he won't admit it or handle this properly. So does Barbra-"

"You told BARBRA?!" Dick nearly tumbled out of bed before Clark appeared by his side in an instant and gently placed him back under his covers. The man swore that he felt Dick lean into his touch a little bit before he lay his head down on his pillow again.

"That's not what I meant." Clark corrected as he adjusted Dick's covers. "I meant that as your friend, Barbra would be worried for you in general because she cares about you."

"She's 15-"

"I mean in the platonic sense." Clark held back a chuckle as Dick's face burned red at the thought of Barbra "caring" on a different level. Maybe when he was older. "Anyways, I mean that your life is valued by a lot of people. None of us want you to throw it away so soon."

"I'm not going to get killed."

"You can't see the future no more than I can see through lead, Dick, and you know that."

"Does this mean that I can't join the Justice League?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"I heard Green Lantern say that I wasn't a member and never would be..." Dick's voice faltered at the end, the hurt making its way into his words.

Clark signed. "John...GL isn't exactly a teddy bear, but that doesn't make him heartless. He's probably worried about you and doesn't want to show it. That goes for the others as well." Dick brightened a little bit, the sting of those words fading with the understanding that the Green Lantern was just concerned. But now his curiosity was heightened too.

"Wonder Woman?"

"Can't say for sure. She was raised on an island filled with women alone. But I don't _think_ that she minds you being around."

"John?"

"I just told you, he's worried about you to an extent."

Dick shook his head. "Not that John, the other John."

"Well, _J'onn_ isn't exactly an easy read." Clark pronounced the Martian's name clearly and slowly with hopes of helping Dick understand the difference. "The times that I've seen him around children, he always seemed...tense. Alert. That feeling probably applies to you too."

"But I don't want them to worry, I want them to know that I can _help_." Dick emphasized that last word, like it was in a foreign tongue difficult to comprehend.

Clark crossed his arms at this statement. "So this is coming from feeling helpless?"

"Uncle Clark, you're not a psychiatrist, don't act like it."

"Alright." Clark tossed his hands up in frustration. This was clearly going nowhere and Alfred would have a fit if he found out that the man was keeping Dick up in his condition. "Let's just postpone this conversation until tomorrow morning."

"Don't you have work in the morning?"

"We can talk during breakfast before I fly out. Faster than a speeding bullet, remember?" Clark flashed his "Superman" smile at Dick, causing the boy to grin a little. Dick started to open his mouth widely and let out a yawn. "I guess this is where I kiss you goodnight and let you sleep."

"'K. G'mornin." Dick adjusted himself in his bed before closing his eyes.

"Good morning?"

"It's technically in the AM, which is universally considered to be morning."

"Point taken. Alright then, good morning." Clark bent over and planted a soft kiss of Dick's forehead before turning around and making his way out the door. Right before he made it out, however, Clark turned around.

"Wait, Dick. I just have one more question. You didn't ask about Hawkgirl or Flash. Why?"

"I know Flash was worried the entire time I was with him." Dick muttered sleepily. "And Hawkgirl offered to watch me while you all went into the sewers. I guess that means she cares a bit."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure." Clark stepped out of the door and placed a hand on the handle _gently_ before slowly closing it shut. "I love you."

"I love you too, Uncle Clark."

With a _click!_, Clark let go of the handle. He felt his feet lose contact with the ground as he slowly flew down the dark hallway into one of the many guest rooms within the Manor. He stripped off the clothes that Alfred left aside for him when he changed out of his Superman costume and randomly pulled out a sleeveless, black T-shirt and gray sweatpants from the drawers. Thank Rao that Alfred always kept spare clothes in several of the guest rooms, there was rarely a night that Wayne Manor was without a visitor of business or...pleasure in Bruce's case.

He pulled the bed sheets back and settled himself onto the mattress. He looked at his wrist-watch and saw that the hour hand was nearing 3 and the minute hand was close to 7. Lack of sleep wasn't really a bad thing, Clark just didn't need that much thanks to the energy he gets from the sunlight. Closing his eyes, he started counting sheep, letting the rhythm of counting lull him into slumber.

His last conscious thoughts as he ebbed away into whatever dream or nightmare he would have to go through were of Dick.

_I love you, Rik-El._

* * *

Thank God! I thought I'd never be able to write this chapter. I finally got out of my writer's block after _months_ of no writing. I am so sorry to you all for keeping you in the dark. I've started trying to write on a schedule now, working towards at least 500 words a day.

The layout of this chapter was so hard to do, there were several variations. One involved being in Leslie Thompson's office in the beginning, but I couldn't really get into it. Another was having the chapter focus on Batman's perception in the aftermath, expressing disappointment with his actions. The third was supposed to be a mix of a flashback on what happened after the fight scene and Bruce's training regimen for Dick. The only thing that came out of all three was the idea of the bombs being duds, from the second option.

And to think that this all came about just because I thought of Dick pretending to be asleep while he overhears Clark and Bruce arguing during Math. I reminded myself to put it into words ASAP and I did it. The rest was easier to do, the original scene between Dick and Clark was pretty short and in my opinion, terrible. It was too sweet and felt too resolved.

Fortunately, I found myself able to write a lengthy conversation between these two and enjoyed what I made. It had nice bonding moments, a little drama that wasn't over the top, even bits and pieces of humor. The part where Dick mimics Yoda just came to me write as I had Clark discussing the whole "domino effect" to the kid, so I added it in.

That last line was something I found on the web. It was someone's fan art of Dick Grayson in a different Nightwing uniform and there was this caption that gave his name, with the surname being Kent and his Kryptonian name being Rik-El. I thought it would go perfectly for this scene because I thought that image was so unique and made me wonder about a scenario where Dick was Clark's adopted son instead of Bruce's. And with the endless argument that Bruce and Clark have with one another about who was the parental model in Dick's life, it makes sense because Clark views Dick as being his son more than Bruce's.

**Anthezar**, thank you so much for your reviews. I think they helped a great deal in the end for writing this chapter. I have a lot of editing to do for the previous chapters, but I have most of the story now all in one file that I can access more easily. (Manly embrace)

I hope to update another chapter soon, now that I am able to write again. Please Review.


	10. Chapter 9: Future Expectations

**Author's Note: **I hope that you guys are enjoying this story now that its out of it's unofficial "hiatus", I'm just glad that I got the previous chapter out. Speaking of which, "manly hugs" are the equivalent of a bone-crushing embrace. Though a brotherly hug sounds more practical now that I think of it. It's nice to hear from you again, **Anthy**, I'll do my best to have updates more frequently. My best hope is that I can get at least a chapter out every week or so if I can follow through with writing at least 500 words or more a day.

**Percy James Frost**, I am so sorry that you had to wait so long for the last update. I will try to do better.

I also updated the first chapter, so it sounds more coherent with the rest of the story. I'm going to try to fix up the rest of the chapters eventually, so best case scenario is to see an update every two weeks. I promise that I will make through with my promise. I was also wondering if anyone of you guys know an artist that would be willing to draw the characters from Dynamic in a specific scene. I'm no artist and I don't know who to ask about this, please let me know in the reviews if there is an artist I can contact.

**Sora Tsuiki** brought up a good point for this story before I rebooted it about Robin and the Justice League. The main confusion was whether or not there was an induction ceremony has now become the inspiration for this chapter, so **Sora Tsuiki**, or as Koby, as is this writer's nickname, I thank you for leaving an imprint on me that formed this chapter.

Last thing before we got onto the story, merely questions: What do you all think of the chemistry that each of the characters have with one another compared to the chemistry they shared on the show? Were there certain phrases uttered by anybody so far that you liked? What _don't _you guys like in the story so far? Are the characters likable? Please share your thoughts in the reviews when you're done reading, I DO appreciate your opinions.

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belongs to DC Comics and Cartoon Network.**

* * *

_"I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine."_

Fritz Perls.

* * *

Chapter 9:** Future Expectations**

Not for the first time today, Flash stifled back a yawn. These annual Justice League meetings were always so boring. There was never any action, and Flash was a man of such a thing. It was just the annual discussion of teamwork, monthly goals, blah blah blah. No variety to them at all. And who was the one in charge of these "important" meetings? Superman. Why couldn't they try and be more active during these meetings? Wasn't the circular table they were all sitting down on supposed to represent equality? Maybe have some snacks on the side, a little humor, some little exercises, some breaks? Some more shut the-hell-up-Superman?

"...it has also come to my attention blah blah blah...no signs of either nation standing down blah blah blah...Flash, please hold your questions until the meeting is over blah blah blah..."

Maybe even PowerPoint for God's sake instead of Superman relying on his ability to speak and nothing else?!

Flash managed to make eye contact with Hawkgirl sitting to his left, who proceeded to roll her eyes and then nudged her head towards Superman. Flash had to hold back a chuckle that was now wedged between his teeth and his throat. At least the only sane person in the room to realize how stupid these meetings were was also Hawkgirl, but Flash wasn't sure what everyone else was thinking.

He tried to ask John about his opinion on the meetings once, who always sat to his right, but the older man shushed him before he could completely saw one word. This was right in the middle of one of the dreaded meetings. The only other person that he seemed certain was enjoying the meetings to the best of their ability was Diana. The Princess must have had a lot of these meetings back home or something, or maybe she viewed it as a learning opportunity. She seemed to be the only person paying close attention to these meetings at all!

Forget Spartan endurance, Amazon endurance was the way to go!

Not for the first time this week, Flash wondered how Robin was doing. Strange kid, but still decent once you got past the snark and puns. He kept on sending Flash so many different signals and they weren't even concise with the previous. One moment, he was acting like some ripoff of Scrappy Doo, and Dear Lord how he hated Scrappy Doo! The next, he was a grinning, Broadway loving goofball like Flash. Another moment, he was simply a confused little kid. Self-doubting. Instantly regretting anything that came out of his mouth that was any of the symptoms above.

Maybe Robin wasn't joking when he said he lost his marbles a long time ago...

Or maybe it was something more. The uncertainty, the abrupt apologies. Flash recognized some of those symptoms before due to...past experience, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. But he made a note to himself to keep as close an eye on the kid as possible, even asking Superman if he knew how Robin was doing a few times throughout the week.

The older hero just _had _to know something about Robin and the grim jerk that was his dad.

Of course, he couldn't ask Batman what Rob's issue was for two reasons. One: Batman would merely tell him to mind his own business and proceed to try his intimidation method by squinting his eyes to create that "Batglare" as Flash recently decided to dub it in the presence of Hawkgirl and J'onn. Two: Batman never comes to these stupid meetings at all!

The first three times - _three_ times - Superman tried to rectify that by contacting Mr. Gloom and Doom from whatever it was Batman did in his free time. His response varied, but the message was clearly a "get your ass up here ASAP or else" kind of message, minus the threatening. Superman never seemed to threaten _anyone_. And the response from those three times? Always the same.

"I'm a part-timer, so it's not my problem. Don't call me again!"

Superman simply gave up after the third attempt, muttering something that sounded on the lines of Batman always pulling this crap. And Flash had to agree with that Boy Scout. Part-timer or not, he was pretty sure that Batman should be a team player. And that meant attending these stupid meetings like a real human being...or...like a civilized individual...thing. Flash had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't among just humans anymore.

Between Hawkgirl, J'onn, and as he recently discovered, Superman, Flash's vocabulary had become a bit more limited as he was afraid of offending someone in the room. There were a few times in his life where he said something that was taken _way_ out of context and Flash refused to let this happen with the League. When he told this to John, he was told that he was overthinking things as usual. But what did _he_ know about the incidents that Flash started by accident? Nothing. John calls it paranoia, Flash calls it playing safe.

"It has also come to Green Lantern's attention that there is a new problem at hand-"

Hold on a minute, since when did _any_ of the League that didn't wear their underwear on the outside have the right to bring up new business?! Where was this in the last meeting?!

"-and he would like to discuss it with everyone-"

"Not everyone." Hawkgirl corrected. Superman turned his attention towards the Thanagarian, a look of surprise on his face. Flash assumed that Superman viewed Hawkgirl as a model meeting person, you know, someone that kept their mouth shut altogether in these meetings. That just shows how much he knew about Hawkgirl compared to Flash.

"Are you referring to Batman?" J'onn asked.

"No, the one-armed man." Hawkgirl's voice went a pitch higher than usual. Flash snickered at her imitation of Jim Carrey. "_Yes_, I'm talking about him."

"I was about to mention that part, Hawkgirl." Superman pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was about to bring that up when-"

"Meow!" Everyone looked to the source of the noise. Walking softly on all fours, the orange cat made its way towards the conference table. John squirmed uncomfortably as the cat drew nearer towards the area where he, Hawkgirl, and the Flash were sitting down at. It seemed to grow worse to the point of John _actually_ pulling his legs off the ground and drew them towards his chest when the cat walked by his seat. Mrs. Rose kept walking past an indifferent Hawkgirl until it came up to one of Flash's leg and started rubbing itself against the man. Although the act was endearing, Flash knew that everyone else was on red alert around the feline despite the lack of anymore microphones on her.

"Dammit, Flash! I told you to keep that cat out of this room!"

"Someone tell me again why we even _have_ a cat up here in the Watchtower?" Hawkgirl asked for the twentieth time this week.

"I told you, we couldn't find the owner and I didn't think it was a good idea to drop the cat off at some random pound." Flash huffed. Everyone was always so _slow_ when it came to the obvious. It was embarrassing. "Besides, I wanted to make sure Mrs. Rose was taken care of until her owner was found."

"It's just a _cat_, Flash." John groaned. "That crazy old lady you saw probably has dozens of them laying around. And it had a _microphone_ in it's collar when we found that thing."

"It's not like she can _speak_, John. She doesn't have any more mikes or trackers on her, come on!" Flash hastily scooped up the cat into his arms, wincing slightly as she drew out her claws and dug into his skin. John pulled away from Mrs. Rose as Flash held her in his face. He looked past Flash's shoulder for some help from Hawkgirl, but she seemed to be holding back chuckles. "How could you so no to such a cutie patootey?"

"First of all, a real man would never use the word 'cutie patootey'. Especially in that voice-"

"You just used said them just now."

"...shut up." John grumbled with indignation as Hawkgirl's stifled chuckles grew louder. "Secondly; I'M ALLERGIC!"

"You aren't sneezing." Flash objected. "I'm pretty sure you'd be sneezing right now in order to be allergic."

"You don't have to sneeze to be allergic to something. I'll break into hives if that cat even brushes up against me, so keep it away before I start breaking out."

Flash quickly pulled back Mrs. Rose and began to stroke her rapidly. Mrs. Rose hissed and proceeded to swipe a claw at the Flash, cutting his chin before the wound quickly faded away. Scratches like those always faded away so quickly. He ignored the continued hissing, he couldn't seem to get enough of the cat's warmth. Maybe if he tried to pet her differently...

"Flash." Superman started. "I know a thing or two about cats, and you are _definitely _not supposed to stroke its fur that quickly. Slow down." Flash raised an eyebrow that he was certain no one else could see. His cowl _did_ cover the majority of his face save for the mouth and eyes, although his eye color was also hidden from view as well. He looked down at Mrs. Rose, who bared her teeth at him and gulped. Forcing himself to slow down, Flash barely brushed up against the cat's fur. The register of purring put him at ease.

J'onn cleared his throat. When everyone directed their attention towards the eldest member- _By at least 80 years!_ Flash thought- J'onn spoke. "I do not wish to come off as...how you say...'abrupt', but perhaps we should get back to the topic at hand."

"Of course, my apologies, J'onn. As I was saying, Batman agreed to be involved in this discussion, but not at this time. He is going to be here shortly, however. Which should give us all the opportunity to talk and debate the issue ourselves."

Flash sighed. This was obviously something to do with Robin, he just knew it was-

"My fellow League members-" _No need to be so dramatic about it__, John_. Flash thought to himself. "Do you remember what Bats said to us the last time we were _all_ in this room?"

"Of course." Diana replied. "He had stated that Robin would be joining the Justice League."

"Exactly." John nodded. "And I-"

Called it.

"And do you wish to question the declaration altogether?" J'onn added. The sense of freedom from Superman's endless droning was infectious. "I assume that this is based on the knowledge that Robin is _very_ under-qualified-"

Flash heard Superman face-palm himself loudly at the mention of this. Maybe he felt like an idiot for bringing that factor in. Flash knew that feeling well and could only give his elder teammate a look of sympathy.

"-he almost got killed last week taking on that all-ee-gay-tor-" Hawkgirl nodded, her mouth fumbling as she struggled to pronounce the still foreign word on her tongue.

"I'm pretty sure it was a crocodile." Flash couldn't help but add in. He started to feel his face growing warm as everyone turned to face him. "Y-you know...cause his name's...Killer Croc."

"Same difference." John continued briskly, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Can everyone just pipe down on the interruptions?"

"It's a free country from what I've been told. We have rights." Hawkgirl smirked. "Isn't 'freedom of speech' included in those rights?"

"Hawkgirl, I am certain that does not mean we show disrespect towards whoever is trying to speak." Wonder Woman chided. She nodded John's way, silently telling him to continue.

John gritted his teeth in frustration so much, it would look hilarious if it weren't so pathetic. "And the idea of putting a child at risk, regardless of what training Batman put him through is-"

"Let me guess." Flash sighed, wanting to get the dramatics out of the way once and for all. Hawkgirl tried gesturing frantically at him to quiet down in vain as John's face grew purple, but to no avail. "You're saying that we should veto Batman's proclamation instead of treating it like the Word of God..."

Next moment, Flash found himself running for his life as John comically snapped from the continuous interruptions and chose the Speedster as his first victim. Too bad he ended up doing more damage to the conference room than to his intended target.

* * *

Recovery time lasted well over a week for Dick. The first three days were filled with a dull routine of waking up, having Alfred take his temperature several times a day and occasionally sneaking downstairs when the elderly man wasn't looking to see what was on the news. Most of the time, he merely saw the reporters hamming up the wreckage from Grundy's rampage last week while shifting the blame onto the Justice League. Or to put it more accurately, Superman took the blunt of the assault while the other members of the League ended up being the butt of several jokes.

But Dick knew better, Barbara told him yesterday (while dropping off homework assigned that day) that one of the officers that was supposed to be guarding Grundy ended up _aggravating _him even further. As a result, Commissioner Gordon had demoted the cop to traffic duty while his colleagues cruelly referred to him as "Armed".

The last part, Dick suspected was more of a "You'd had to been there" moment.

He honestly wished that Barbara had been able to stay with him for a while and help him with the assignments. But he didn't want to come off as being lonely or anything, he didn't want to be pitied.

Unfortunately, Alfred had politely asked Barbara if her father was still waiting in the car when he realized that she was still in the Manor, leaving Dick without his friend again. Dick wondered if Bruce was trying to limit who saw him while he was still recuperating. It seemed to make _some _sense, considering how Child Services was apparently watching Bruce like a hawk.

But did that mean that _Barbara_ wasn't allowed to see him for more than five minutes at a time?!

The remaining four days after Alfred declared him able to move around the Manor more frequently were spent with trying to do his homework with his other hand due to his injury. He thought of asking Alfred for help, but then reconsidered the action since it might put him and the elderly man into trouble at school. As for Bruce, he hadn't seen the man that much aside from a brief "Hello" and "Goodbye" each morning before Bruce went off to work. In a way, it made things all the more unexpected for Dick when Bruce finally got his act together and got himself to talk more than one word at a time to the boy.

"A what?" Dick was having a hard time understanding what he was being told. Did Bruce get hit on the head one too many times again?

"A meeting. Today." Bruce had his back turned to Dick as he walked in front of the grandfather clock residing within his office. Dick always wondered if it was meant to be an inside joke. Of all the places to put the entrance to the Batcave, Bruce had it so anyone could get in through his office within the Manor. He shook his head at the thought of Commissioner Gordon finding the entrance himself during an investigation. It didn't exactly legitimize what Bruce- _and now me_\- did.

He was still struggling to chew over the words that Bruce had told him. Uncle Clark said that they were probably worried, but the fact that they invited a child- Dick himself, no less- into their big "hero" meeting was sounding a lot like a 180 degree turn. Bruce looked at him once more before opening the face of the clock and changed the time so that it was 10:47 in the evening.

Dick never understood the importance of that specific time. Was it to mark the longest time Bruce went as Batman without stopping? The day he was born?

"And they want _me_ to come join them?" Dick flinched when Bruce turned his head to give him a "you're sounding like an idiot" look. _Would it kill you to not be vague about everything?_ Dick thought to himself.

"Yes. Nothing more to concern yourself with at the moment." Bruce said before breaking eye-contact with Dick. He proceeded to make his way down the long stairwell that was made visible by the large clock sinking into the ground. Dick waited several seconds before proceeding to make his way down the stairs as well, walking straight into the darkness.

_Concerned myself with?! _"But Alfred said that I shouldn't be exerting myself-"

"Well, I supersede Alfred." Bruce interjected, making no room for argument. "We're just going up to the Watchtower for a meeting. It's not like you're going to be doing anything strenuous like run a marathon."

Alfred was still refusing to give Dick the clear on being outside for extended periods of time, despite overcoming the worst of his cold. And there was still the homework that Barbara kept dropping off every day Dick missed school. Not to mention how hard it was for him to write with his other hand. How could he give Bruce his stamp of approval over this?!

"But he said-"

"I don't care what Alfred said, Richard, we're _both_ going to the meeting and that's final." Bruce snapped. Richard flinched at the tone of his voice and stop walking. Bruce noticed the lack of footsteps behind him and turned around. He resisted the urge to groan at this spectacle.

That kid _always_ had to be dramatic, now didn't he. But it was the idea of having to deal with Clark - _again!_ \- that forced Bruce to swallow his retort. He had to stop losing his cool so easily.

"I'm..." _I'm sorry_. Bruce thought. _Just _two _words to say. Shouldn't take some disaster for me to say them, right?_ "I'm...not trying to sound like a jerk...I already explained to Alfred that this won't be anything to lose sleep over." _Goddammit, that's not what he needs to hear!_

Richard looked up at him doubtfully.

"It's just a meeting. No missions. Just a meeting." _Look at the kid in the eyes, Bruce, be patient for once._ "You can say whatever you want to them. Within reason, of course. You have input."

"Does this mean I have input on whether or not I want to _go_ to this meeting?"

"No."

"Great." Richard huffed sarcastically.

"Watch it."

As they continued their way down the steps in silence, Bruce nearly looked back several times to see if Richard was still following him. He had half a mind to stop in his tracks and say those blasted two words evading his vocabulary, but thought against it. The kid would forget about the little spat, he wasn't one to hold grudges against people. At this reassuring thought, Bruce felt his lips curl ever so slightly in the dark. Richard would let it go, he just needed space.

Finally giving into the temptation, Bruce looked over his shoulder briefly to find Richard with a small smile on his face.

_Wow, that didn't take long_. Bruce thought as he faced forward again.

Everything was as it should be.

* * *

_Some adult _he_ is. _ Dick thought sadly as he walked down the stone steps. _He always dampens the mood_.

What was it with Bruce?

His pessimism was almost infectious at times, it was like rain clouds would appear whenever he opened his big mouth. He didn't have to snap at Dick like that. Dick always tried to stay on his best behavior and even then, Bruce would find some stupid fault. Just because this was Gotham City doesn't mean that Bruce has to be a Debbie Downer. The only thing missing was the sound of a trombone or some kind of instrument that went _wah! wah!_ to make all of Bruce's negativity seem like a skit.

Unbidden, an old memory from a different time came into his mind. It felt so different back then, when all it took to cheer Dick up were four simple words.

_Grownups make mistakes too._

_Uncle Clark. _Dick smiled to himself Leave it to him to show his "glass half full" perspective. Dick just had to be patient with Bruce. He wasn't perfect. He put in _some_ effort at times, just like he tried just now. All Dick had to do was be patient. Maybe the fact that he was becoming Robin again was a sign that things were taking a turn for the better. Baby steps.

Out of nowhere, Dick felt something was watching him and broke out of his thoughts. He caught Bruce's head turning away from him. He must have been looking over his shoulder when Dick was lost in his thoughts.

_Grownups make mistakes too._

He just had to be patient.

* * *

Diana sent a silent prayer to Hera for strength as she watched Superman insist upon peace between the likes of Flash and John Stewart, the Green Lantern. Or to put it more bluntly, she watched as a red and blue blur dashed past John and leave him without his only weapon. Flash was clearly not in a fighting mood as he stopped dashing around the room immediately after he realized that John had ceased his attacks.

The fact that he did this so suddenly came off to Diana as being out of character from what she's seen of her colleague. Diana suspected that John lost control of himself so easily out of a sense of...what was the word that Flash used that time when they battled that Captain Cold man? Stir crazy? It sounded like something the priestesses of Themyscira from long ago also suffered from.

Traditionally, an Amazon priestess was to tend to their assigned temple for several centuries until their successor came to retrieve them. But her mother, the Queen, started noticing how the retrieved priestesses acted...hostile around others and even attacked those who came too close towards them. This was long before Diana's birth, as the ancient tradition was no longer upheld.

No. Stir crazy wasn't the appropriate word for John's actions. Restless. He was acting restless like everyone else was and lashed out quickly to those who inadvertently oppressed his small reprieve from it. Although his actions did mirror the behavior that her fellow Amazon sisters described to her. Diana decided that she should request a private audience with Superman on the matter...if that were the proper term. These meetings were clearly one-sided and hardly successful.

Perhaps Batman knew ahead of time what these meetings were going to be like and decided to keep that information to himself.

"-shut up, please?" John's voice wormed its way into Diana's thoughts and pulled her back to the spectacle occurring. "I wanted to bring this matter up and expected _everybody-_" He glared at Flash and Hawkgirl, the two main culprits. "-to give me the respect to talk uninterrupted."

"It'd help if we actually talked more instead of listening to the World's Most Boring Public Speaker all the time!" Flash objected, his last words directed towards Superman.

"These are supposed to be informative meetings, not discussions about the going ons of everyone else's life." Superman crossed his arms.

"That's basically what _you're_ doing." John snapped. "This is getting ridiculous-"

Diana was already feeling a headache forming from the noise and wished to avert conflict. "I understand that there are _certain_ issues to be addressed." She looked at Superman as she began. "But we must get back to our current business. John, please continue."

John nodded gratefully towards the Amazon Princess and cleared his throat. "Alright. Flash brought up my main point-albeit, I didn't need his help-and I think that we need to really talk about this before we forget. Robin clearly hasn't even begun puberty yet, and has yet to show signs of maturity. Maybe what he told us last week was true, that he wasn't an immature brat-"

"I object to that! He wasn't acting like a brat! I work with kids a lot back in Central and he's _clearly_ not like that!" Flash rose out of his seat with a passion. Hawkgirl stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, calming the young man down almost instantly.

John pressed the bridge of his nose as he appeared to try collecting himself. Diana felt the urge to take control of the situation; one part of her agreed with Mother, Men were hot-headed and eager to fight. They were quick to make assumptions and take control of everything. The other part of Diana wished to let John get his point across by himself as to avoid another incident. Several moments passed before John took a deep breath and continued more calmly.

"Flash, I understand that you were with Robin for the better part of the night, and so I may be wrong about my impression on the kid. But I simply feel that based upon my interactions with Robin that he is in fact a bratty kid. If you wish to stay in this meeting and be treated like an adult, then I simply ask that you stop these dramatic outbursts and interruptions."

Diana watched as Flash silently fumed at John's words, but pursed his lips tightly nonetheless.

"Let me make myself clear on one thing. I am not trying to sound like a jackass. I heard of children as young as five being forced into fighting as a soldier for terrorists from my pals stationed in the Middle East. The last thing I want is for some nut job that we hardly see around here taking a page out of those monsters' book and 'drafting' some kid into the whole crime-fighting business.

"If Batman meant to bring his kid up here just to let Robin meet us and maybe even get us to babysit once in a while, then that would be a completely different story. But it isn't, and I don't like knowing that some kid is fighting psychopaths and killers in Gotham. Or anywhere else for that matter."

Flash slowly raised his hand up into the air and patiently waited until John nodded in his direction. "But?"

"But considering how Batman won't even come to these meetings, he's clearly telling us that he doesn't play by our rules." John began to make his way around the round conference table at a leisurely pace. This brought up the image of Diana's mother doing the same thing with the counsel when she wanted to make a point. Perhaps this was where John would recommend a course of action to take? "Although I want to insist that Robin be forbidden from crime-fighting altogether, we all know how _that's_ going to turn out with his mentor-"

"And how do you expect it to turn out with me?"

Diana nearly jumped at the sudden voice popping in.

"Batman, I thought I told you to wait outside until you and Robin were called in."

"This meeting is supposed to involve both myself and my partner, Superman, so I think it should be appropriate that we were involved in the meeting as well."

Diana looked towards Flash, whose face brightened tremendously to the surprise of Hawkgirl.

"Robbie! Great to see you again, buddy!"

"Flash." Robin nodded towards the Speedster with a shy grin on his face. He held one arm a little for delicately than the other, but Robin appeared to be in good health at the moment. He began to walk towards Flash when Batman placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and kept him in place.

"You can talk to him after the meeting, not during." Batman frowned at his protege, whose smile quickly faded.

"Perhaps it would be a better idea if Robin were to wait outside while we all talked." Diana suggested kindly. "Flash, would you be willing to wait outside with Robin while we filled Batman in on the issue at hand?" With the most spontaneous man that she ever met so far in Man's World out of the way, the League would be able to converse more freely.

"Whatever needs to be discussed, you could at least be courteous enough to let my partner sit at the grown-up's table."

"I don't know, Batman." Robin fidgeted nervously. "I'm no rocket scientist, but I think I'll just put everyone on edge-"

Batman cut him off. "Then that's their problem."

John sighed in exasperation. "Alright, but I'm afraid that you'll have to stand, Robin. We...don't have an extra seat for visitors in the room."

The sound of the word, "visitor", seemed to put Robin on edge a little, Diana observed his uninjured hand clenched tightly at his side. She wondered if Robin was expecting himself to be treated among equals or if he was simply being sensitive like most Men.

Superman seemed to take notice of Robin's reaction and added in. "We never really expected someone else would be up in the Watchtower with us." Robin stopped clenching his fist and took a deep breath as Batman made his way towards the only vacant seat at the table, which was at Superman's side.

* * *

Robin felt awkward as he looked at the Justice League before him. Leave it to Batman to let him handle things on his own. The least he could have done was give Robin a _little_ support right now. Superman gave him a nervous smile, clearly feeling helpless over the situation.

"You can take my seat if you want." Flash stood up and gestured to where he was formerly sitting.

"No thanks, I can stand." Robin smiled politely at the older man. _I have to look mature_. Robin thought to himself. _Batman said that I can't look helpless._

"You sure." Flash looked concerned. "I think the seat can be adjusted if that's the problem-"

"It's not." Robin shook his head. Flash looked like he wasn't satisfied with the answer given. He mentally racked his brain for something else to justify his standing. A sudden thought came into his mind. "It kind of reminds me of Anakin being questioned by the Counsel if I'm the only one standing. You know, when they're testing him to see if he's the Chosen One?"

"Oh my God, you actually _saw_ that film?!" Flash looked like he was seeing something horrific. His reaction was starting to make Robin chuckle a little. The Green Lantern cleared his throat loudly, making Flash's face glow red, matching the rest of his costume in shade.

"Robin." Green Lantern spoke calmly. "Do you know why you're here?"

_No, I don't, thanks to Mister 'I like keeping people in the dark about things that matter'_. Robin shuffled awkwardly in place. _Come on, Batman must be testing you. Use your brain if you have one!_

What did he know? A) The Gotham PD didn't really like him because he was young. B) The League wasn't impressed that he almost got killed by Killer Croc last week. C) They weren't eager to let him into their ranks.

"Well?" Green Lantern was starting to look a little impatient.

"Does this have to do with Batman wanting me to join the Justice League?" Robin was willing to risk the gamble. But he still felt like an idiot since it felt like he was pointing out the obvious.

"Yes."

Thank God, nobody was looking at him different.

"And we feel that-"

"_We?_" Flash looked incredulous as he interrupted. Robin wondered how long it was that the League was talking about this.

"Alright, _I_ feel that in light of your age - and not on your performance, I don't care if you can jump as high as the man in blue - that we should reject Batman's proposition."

Robin felt his heart sink in disappointment.

"But we are willing to compromise with Batman on this matter." Robin looked up hopefully in Superman's direction. "I feel that your crime-fighting duties should be limited for the time being situations that are not in any way life-threatening. Anything you do with the League will be minimal at best."

"I agree." Martian Manhunter nodded gravely. "I would hesitate to put you in harm's way."

_They're just worried, they're just worried_. Robin repeated in his head, trying to remember what Uncle Clark told him in an effort to not feel offended by what he was hearing. But he didn't know whether or not he should speak up and add his opinion to the table.

"For the time being, I feel that we should reconsider allowing you to enter when you become of age. Until then, you are still welcome aboard the Watchtower and free to use the training facilities provided. We will be more than happy to assist in your training, albeit, with reasonable limits to what you will learn for the time being."

_Seven years?!_ Robin's eyes widened with shock. _Batman's not gonna like that!_ He looked toward where Batman was sitting and found that his mentor was keeping his face void of any expression. No betraying signs of anger or disappointment whatsoever.

"What would that be for this world?" Hawkgirl looked at Superman. "On Thanagar, you would become of age when you turned 14."

"So what, you're like 12? Is that why you're called Hawkgirl?" Flash smirked.

"I'm 27 by Earth's standards and the public gave me my hero name. If it were up to me, I would have gone for Hawk_woman_." Hawkgirl returned the smirk with an emphasis on the word, "woman."

"To answer your question, Hawkgirl, in the United States, the legal age would be 18. Since he resides in the US, we should follow that standard. That would allow the League to monitor Robin's growth at a close range and intervene when necessary. It can also give him time to think about doing this while he grows older."

"You're hoping to change his mind by the time he's a legal adult." Flash observed.

Superman nodded, Robin thought he saw a familiar teasing smile on the man's face. "Don't worry, Flash, you'll still be able to hang out with him."

Despite his frustrations, Robin gauged the different reactions that adorned each member's face. Green Lantern looked like he was relieved at the news, a small grin in triumph growing on his face. Wonder Woman looked relatively the same, she seemed neither mad or happy about the news. Batman's expression mirrored Wonder Woman's, but Robin felt that wasn't happy with the League intervening that much into his patrol time. Martian Manhunter's eyes showed signs of concern, Robin wondered if the Martian felt that 18 was still too young an age for him to join. Hawkgirl was patting Flash on the shoulder, who seemed to have brightened considerably.

Did he want to help Robin in his training? No. He was probably just happy to "hang out" as Superman put it. Robin felt himself smile. It would be cool to hang out with Flash more, he was a nice guy.

"16."

Everyone turned in the direction where Batman was sitting. Green Lantern's small smile faded as he glared at Batman, as if he were daring the man to repeat what he just said.

"You will reconsider admission when Robin turns 16 and _not_ cut into his patrol time. You can limit what missions he does and train him how to breathe in space for all I care, but whatever happens in Gotham is _my_ business. Take it or leave it."

Green Lantern looked like he wanted to do just what Batman proposed and "leave it" when Superman cleared his throat.

"Accepted. But I think we should ask Robin for his opinion first before moving forward."

All eyes were back onto Robin now. He cursed Batman for throwing in his two-cents. He must have felt that another seven years would be too much time. If there was one thing that he learned while living with Batman, its that the man always liked being in control of most things. And he's expecting the others to accept his compromise to the compromise.

If the others were going to help him, Robin would be okay with waiting seven years. But now Batman was rushing things. Was it because he liked the sound of a "Boy Wonder" being in the League rather than a "Man Wonder"?

He looked at Superman, at Uncle Clark, and saw the same support in his eyes as always.

He looked towards Wonder Woman and thought that she might not be objecting any further to get further into Batman's good books.

He looked towards Martian Manhunter and found that the older figure was looking back at him, as if he were silently urging him to say no.

He looked towards Batman and found no hint of emotion, as always.

He looked towards Green Lantern and remember those damning last words he spoke back in the sewer and wondered if he would ever be good enough for the man.

He looked towards Hawkgirl, who gave an encouraging nod.

Then he looked towards Flash and found that the man was giving him a smile he found familiar. Robin realized that it must have been the same grin he gave to Flash when they first met. He was ready to support Robin either way like Superman would. He had his answer.

"I...accept those conditions."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Finally done with this chapter! *Jumps and cheers until notices eyes glaring* Jeez, no need to be hostile...

I'm sorry it took this long for another update, guys. But I think I've found a system to work with. I talked to my father about this once in regards to some future plot point I was having trouble with. The conversation went south in my opinion because he was saying "he's a kid" and at the time, I wasn't getting the answers I was looking for. But now I remember how he said that 16 or 18 would be a more appropriate age to join and found that it managed to create this chapter. I did my best to incorporate lighter tones into this chapter and not make you guys feel depressed with all the gloom and doom of Gotham.

I'm talking to you, Batman!

So that meant that I gave a humorous POV of Flash and tried to incorporate his comical aspect with his other concerns and tried to give Diana's POV as well since my best friend told me that the story doesn't really have POVs outside of Robin, Supes, and Bats.

When Dick was recalling Superman's words of encouragement back at Wayne Manor, I was using the same words that **Anthezar** suggested to me in a PM to incorporate in some way or form. Thanks so much, **Anthy**, it helped me create a little optimism for our young hero.

Flash (scratching his head): Don't you mean _sidekick_, since he's a kid?

Robin (indignant): Whose side are you on?! I thought we were friends!

Me: Robbie, he didn't mean it like that. (Ruffles Robin's head) Why don't you two go and make a frappe or something?

Robin and Flash (in unison): OKAY!

(Both run off towards the kitchen)

John (Flying after them): Look what you've done! Now the kitchen will be a mess again!

Flash (calling back): We'll let you handle the blender this time.

John (sighing): Fine.

Dad, thank you so much for that conversation at least a year ago. I will remember to thank you in person for creating this chapter with just a few words. Who knew that I would think about it in a different light.

Please remember to review. Give me feedback. Is Robin sounding like Anakin from _The Phantom Menace_ onward? Were the other POVs to your liking? Is Batman okay to listen to?

Happy Readings!


	11. Chapter 10: Flashy Orientation

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for reviewing, Guest Reviewer **Ashe **as well as **steelec1 **and **xSapphirexRosesxFanx**, even getting one review per chapter would be enough for me. I almost thought nobody was going to respond until I saw your emails. (Smiles thankfully) It made me feel better. It just gets pretty hard to write when you don't get responses from others, so I have to thank you three for putting the effort into acknowledging my efforts. (Embraces warmly).

Once again, I am so sorry that it took so long to update. Writer's Block can be a real bitch sometimes.

In further response to your comment on Bruce, **steelec1**, I will just say that there was a divergent point before the story occurred, explaining Bruce's mixed behavior towards Dick (there have been moments in earlier chapters where Bruce tried to show his softer side, but we all know how bad he is at _that_) as well as to why our Boy Wonder is still grade-school aged instead of being in his twenties like he is at this point in the DCAU. The first time I tried writing this story in 2014, one of my favorite reviews from the first chapter was:

"Just one difference changes the entire universe."

Well, that's as close as I can remember, but it always stuck with me. After reading Team 8 (Naruto) and Morality Chain (Avatar: The Last Airbender) as well as recently watching **Justice League: Flashpoint**, I've begun to understand how history can be change from doing something as simple as stepping on a butterfly, otherwise known as the Butterfly Effect.

But please note that Bruce/Bamtan is not a typically nice person. Most writers on this website tend to portray him as a teddy bear, or Daddybats, which is simply out of character for him. He DOES care about Dick/Robin, but please note that watching your own parents get killed in front of you can mess you up emotionally and psychologically.

Batman: If you think I'm a jerk in this story, you should see how Frank Miller portrays me in All Star: Batman and Robin.

Flash (Cuts in front of Batman): Better known as Crazy Steve to Linkara from Atop the 4th Wall! (Whispers loudly into my ear) But between you and me, I think this guy's crazy enough without poor writing.

Batman: I heard that!

Me (Imitates a Scottish accent while whispering to Flash): This is the part where you run away.

(Red blur zooms past Batman)

Batman (Glares): Work on your Shrek accent. You put too much emphasis on the vowels.

Me: How the hell would you know, you're just words a document with no sound involved?!

I probably should have made that last part more clear...not to mention that there will be some deviations from the cartoon into unknown territory...

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk (and I apologize in advance if I am coming off like that) I'm just trying to explain that Batman is not really Daddybats material in the canon. Or to be more precise, this story.

**Disclaimer: All Rights To Batman and the Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network.**

* * *

_"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."_

Willy Wonka. _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory._

* * *

**Chapter 10: Flashy Orientation**

"I...accept those conditions."

Robin continued to feel all eyes upon him even after he finished speaking. He looked towards Superman, who seemed to be lost in thought as he nodded. When he looked up, Robin could see a smile on Superman's face, yet his eyes seemed to tell a different tale. It looked like there were many conflicting emotions swirling around those deep blues, mainly frustration and fear. Before he could think further about what Superman was really thinking, the older hero closed his eyes again, as if thinking further. When he spoke, he kept his eyes closed.

"Very well. The League will start arranging different courses for you to work towards. In the meantime, I recommend that you wait until you get approval to resume your regular training and patrol time with Batman before anything else. That includes recovery time." Robin nodded again. He could live with that. He looked towards Batman, hoping to gauge his reaction from what Superman was saying.

Where he had hoped to see some form of positive reaction from his mentor, Robin found an empty expression etched upon his face. _Like always_. Robin thought sadly. A blank canvas either waiting for the right paint to create a beautiful portrait or simply remain the way it is and can somehow still be called "art".

Feeling uncomfortable with the silence now filling the room, Robin spoke up. "So...what do we do now in the meantime? Play Twenty Questions?" He chuckled at his little joke, taking note of a lack of reaction among the other heroes. Maybe they were just as lost as he was right now?

"Meow!"

The new noise registered into Robin's ears, bringing back the smells and horrors of the Gotham sewers along with it. He felt something rub up against him and looked down to see a small, fuzzy creature covered with orange fur. It took several moments for Robin to remember why it looked so familiar to him in the first place.

"Why is this cat here?!" Several moments pass before Robin notices the varying reactions on the others and realized that he was thinking out loud. Unable to utter another word, Robin blushed and focused his attention on Mrs. Rose, bending down to pick up the small creature. He barely even noticed when Green Lantern started speaking to him again until he heard someone clear their throat.

"Flash thought that it would be a _great _idea if we decide to let that furball stay in the Watchtower until we can find it's-"

"Her." Flash whispered loudly. Green Lantern shook his head at the Speedster.

"Does it matter?" Batman frowned.

Green Lantern gave Batman a warning glare. "Please don't start this again..."

"Actually, it's a he." Robin had to stifle a laugh when he saw the look on Flash's face as he said this. His mouth was starting to look reminiscent to the reactions in old cartoons. "I just saw the cat's...you know."

"Um...TMI..." Flash could barely get out while Hawkgirl struggled to contain her laughter at his side.

Wonder Woman frowned. "I do not understand...what does TMI mean?"

"Too much information." Green Lantern struggled to hide the small grin on his face.

"That will do, Robin." Superman directed his attention towards the boy again with a small grin on his face. "There are a couple of things I need to go over with your mentor right now in private with the others. Why don't you explore the rest of the Watchtower? I doubt you were able to see much the last time you were here and all."

A gust of wind blew through his hair and Robin blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The red blur that was now obscuring his vision from the rest of the League in front of him crouched down to eye-level, and Robin found himself taking a few steps backwards from the close distance between himself and the Flash. He understood that he was on good terms with the Flash, but did that mean that the older man (or young adult, he sounded pretty young) had to act like a...teddy bear?

"Yo Supes, do I have the honor to give Rob the grand tour of the place? Now that he's a member-to-be?"

Superman kept his eyes on Batman as he spoke. He chose his words carefully, trying to gauge how the man beside him would respond.

"You'll have to clear that up with his mentor first, I'm afrai-"

"Don't care. Bye!"

Another gust of wind swept throughout the room, with Flash and Robin vanishing out of sight.

* * *

Hawkgirl blinked several times, trying to regain her composure. Wasn't she sitting down just two seconds ago? And wasn't John sitting right next to her? She felt an arm around her waist and looked down to see who it belonged to. The moment the color red came into view, Hawkgirl turned to face its owner with a sweet smile.

"Flash, what did I tell you about touching my person without permission?"

To his credit, Flash returned the smile with great vigor. Although his tone carried a hint of concern in it.

"Never get any more physical than a pat on the shoulder or you'll hurt me?"

"Exactly." Hawkgirl felt her grin grow wider as she spoke in a dangerous tone showing her teeth for an added effect. "Now please unhand me before I make with my promise."

Flash let out a girlish scream and dashed several meters away from the enraged Thanagarian. Hawkgirl never thought a man would be capable of reacting in such a way until she meet the Speedster. Strange indeed. But still lovable in his own way.

But lovable or not, Flash had the attention span of a hatchling sometimes. And then there was the kid - Robin - who barely a good impression on her the last time the two were in the same room. Her eyes trailed to Flash's other arm, where the Robin boy was tucked underneath. And looking equally as uncomfortable as she was but not as vocal.

Hawkgirl cleared her throat and gestured to the boy. Flash followed her eyes and jumped, seemingly forgetting that there was a third person among them.

"Could you please put me down?" Robin blushed. Flash chuckled nervously and unceremoniously dropped the boy onto the ground, who landed like a cat on all fours. Hawkgirl corrected herself when she saw that the boy kept one hand away from the ground, probably the one that he injured last week. Robin threw a glare at the Speedster, who backed up slowly at the comically growing hostility.

"Whoopssorryaboutthatbuthawkswouldkillmeifieverheldherlikethat."

"What?" Robin blinked in confusion.

Hawkgirl sighed. "He basically said that I would castrate him if he tried to carry me out like he did with you."

"Wait a minute, you can _understand_ him?!" Robin looked incredulous now, gaping at Hawkgirl like she was a well-known intellect that deserved all of the attention.

"Not really hard to do if you hang out with the guy for a few months." Hawkgirl chuckled. "So yeah. I guess you could say I dabble in Flashnese."

"Pretty sure I didn't use the word 'castrate' in that sentence." Flash grumbled in the background. "And ITS NOT LIKE I'M SPEAKING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE!" Even with his voice raised, Flash still sounded childish with his words going up an octave or two.

"I said _basically_ not word-for-word." Hawkgirl threw back with a cheeky grin etched on her face. A noise resembling a choked motor engine registered into Hawkgirl's ears, putting her on alert. When she looked in the direction of where the noise was coming from, she saw that it was Robin clamping his mouth closed, struggling to contain giggles.

The little that could be seen of Flash's face grew red. "How 'bout _you _be around the blood-thirsty, mace-loving warrior for more than five seconds and _then_ we'll see if you'll still giggle like a school girl." The last part was thrown with a teasing grin that Hawkgirl was all too familiar with.

Robin felt his body tighten in anticipation for attack - as if being teased at school wasn't bad enough - when he saw the smile on Flash's face himself. _He wasn't being malicious._ Robin reminded himself. _Flash is a nice guy. As far as I know, he's not the type to hurt people on purpose._ A smile crept onto the boy's face as he prepared to throw his retort back. His voice radiated coolness as he spoke.

"Well I'd rather giggle like a school girl than scream like one. But no one's judging you, Flash."

He heard Flash start to laugh almost as soon as he began to relish in the joke with another onslaught of giggles. _He's a nice guy. _Robin thought. _Flash has got to be the bubbliest person I've ever met._

Hawkgirl watched the spectacle before her and smiled. If Flash could stand being around the brat for more than five seconds, then maybe she should give him a chance too...

"Alright Flash, munchkin-"

"If _I'm_ a munchkin, then what does that make you?" Robin's face was still red from laughter, which might have been mistaken for fury considering the expression on his face.

Robin's defiant look altered as Hawkgirl bent down and gave him a sickly sweet smile two inches from his face.

"That makes me your orientation leader."

Flash mumbled uncomfortably in the background. "Chill it, Hawks, I don't think he knows if you're teasing him or not."

"I thought Flash was going to show me around."

"Fine, Flash can show you around, but we're going to do this tour on _my_ speed." Hawkgirl huffed. "Come on, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

"I do not understand how Flash was able to take Hawkgirl out of the room with Robin, but not bring the cat with him." J'onn looked at the furry creature curiously before backing up as the cat hissed at him.

"My theory is that he thought I'd hate the cat and left it here to spite me." Batman replied blankly.

"If that's the case, Batman, then how come you're holding it?"

"I never said that Flash assumed correctly, GL."

* * *

The first time that he overheard Batman telling Superman about the blueprints for the Watchtower, Robin assumed that there wouldn't be much to expect from the then-future space station. He could only assume because Bruce never let him look at the plans at all. But after twenty minutes, he had already seen a TV room that was as large as three trailers, a small swimming pool that could become a hot tub with the push of a button, as well as an two additional kitchens that were clearly meant for cooking meals rather than snacks.

And the way Flash conducted himself on the tour was...interesting. He'd always have something to say, even when there was nothing to see. It was almost like being on a tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory except less Oompa Loompy-ey. And nobody was getting sucked up a river, bloating like a blueberry, going down a garbage chute, or becoming as small as an ant.

"Here's Training Room B. I'd prefer to think of it as Training Room _Batman_ cause of the training course from Hell in here."

"That's our medical bay. Since J'onn's the only one with real medical experience, he's sort of our doctor. Don't ask him how Martian anatomy applies to ours cause he won't give you a real answer."

"This is our landing dock for the Javelin 7. Never really knew why we added the 7 on it, it's the only ship we made."

"I prefer to think of this as GL's - and mine, but I still ask him first - personal man cave. GL always watches sports in here or watches these videos he recorded of each of us practicing. Beware the day when he looks at your training videos, because he is the drill sergeant from Hell. Or at least the Jerk with the Heart of Gold, cause he's helped me improve my hand-t-o-hand combat skills a LOT."

The only other tour that Dick had ever been on wasn't as pleasant. Grim tour guides and large mansions were never a good combo. Maybe if Bruce actually put effort into saying things that didn't involve what not to do or touch in a room...but it was too soon after the funeral. He must have assumed that it wasn't a time for smiles. The only positive thing that he put _some _effort into was at the end when he was showing Dick..._his_ new bedroom.

_"Richard, I know this is a bit much for you. But I just want to let you know that you have a home with us here. Just take it a day at a time if you need to."_

Dick remembered how painful it must have been for Bruce smile like that. He had seen the man smile before, but they looked better. Maybe that was the first honest smile he had given in a long time?

"Feeling overwhelmed?"

Robin jumped at the sound next to him and looked up. Hawkgirl looked at him with an odd expression on her face. Realizing that she had asked him a question, Robin chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Not really used to getting tours by a Speedster. Kind of weird."

"Between you and me, I thought this station was weird the first time I walked through it. But I got used to it." Hawkgirl grinned, as if recalling the memory fondly. "I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually."

Robin felt himself smile weakly when a red blur zoomed right between himself and the Thanagarian.

"I was walking down the hall for the past five minutes when I realized I was talking to no one. Who do you think I am?" Flash's mouth sagged deeply in the corners. Robin had to stifle a laugh as he responded.

"Guess that makes you Issac Newton." He frowned at the lack of reaction he was receiving. "You know, Issac Newton? Scientist? Had this habit of giving lectures at universities even when there was no one in the room?"

Flash's eyes widened with recognition. "Oh yea-hey, wait a minute! Are you calling me crazy?"

"Naw. I'm just calling you Issac Newton." Robin chuckled.

Flash turned to Hawgirl. "Hawks, help me understand what he's saying." He backed up at the glare he was now on the receiving end of.

"I'm an alien from another world, I barely even know the cuisine here. How do you expect me to know who the fuck this-"

"Language!" Flash scolded, wagging his finger for added effect.

"We're adults-" Hawkgirl threw back.

"With an impressionable minor in our midst." Flash added, gesturing to the 'impressionable minor' before them.

To prove Flash's point further, Robin grinned maniacally. "You wouldn't want Batman to know that you're teaching me swear words, would you?"

To her credit, Hawkgirl merely frowned at the statement before walking away, muttering under her breath. "Why do I always get stuck babysitting?"

"On with the tour then!" Flash declared dramatically.

The next room that Robin found himself being lead into appeared empty aside from a circular pad in the middle of the floor. He frowned. The boy looked up to Flash and asked ironically. "Are we moving on to the storage closet stage in our tour then?"

Flash merely smiled. "Wait for it..."

As if on cue, the floor pad started glowing until something square-shaped materialized out of nothing and landed on the pad, the light now fading away from it. Robin blinked as his readjusted to the new sight before him in the form of a medium-sized wooden crate.

Flash zoomed up to where the crate was and placed one finger in a cracked. Suddenly, his finger became nothing but a blur as it started making a _whir!_ sound, similar to a drill. Within seconds, there was a small pile of wood dust on the floor and a small hole within the crate. Flash dug his hand into the hole and ripped open the top, tilting it at a forty-five degree angle as he did so. Inside of the crate was a large amount of boxes; Robin recognized some of them as cereal, others he noted were filled with pasta or freeze-dried food.

"Tada!" Flash declared dramatically.

"So this is how you get food onto the Watchtower?"

"Yep. Every hour or so, we get supplies for the Watchtower. There's a room that brings up exercise equipment and one that has medicine. This room gets twice the amount of crates each day. Donations from Wayne Enterprises too. It's our only donor...well, the only one we really need. There are other companies in other cities that give donations. Ahem...for a price, at least." Flash dug into the box and pulled out a box of Oreos. "Somehow, there are always a couple of these cookie boxes put into the crates. Guess someone knows our little Martian friend has a sweet tooth for them."

"How are you able to transport this stuff up here, anyhow?" Robin asked.

"Batman set it all up with the company. It uses this new energy called Zeta. Don't ask how we get an endless supply of this stuff because Batman won't tell me. All I know is that we've been experimenting with Zeta energy for a while now, we even created fuel out of it for the Javelin 7. That's how we're able to get down to Earth or some distant planet so quickly."

Robin scratched his head for a moment, lost in thought. "You know something? I think Batman is using Zeta energy in his Bat-Plane too."

Flash stumbled as he heard this. "Are you serious?! So that's how he's able to get here so quickly." As he said this, Flash shook his head in shock at the prospect of his colleague applying their technology to his own gadgets.

"Anything else around here that's worth seeing?" Robin asked.

Flash frowned at this. "Not really. That's pretty much everything worth seeing - you know what? Why don't I show the private quarters everyone has?"

Hawkgirl shook her head at this. "Flash, as much as I enjoy you trying to prolong the inevitable, I think this is where the tour ends and we all go to the gift shop so-to-speak."

"Why don't we show Rob the...bathrooms? Show him the brands that we have in the stalls?" Flash started to look a little nervous. Robin wondered if the man was starting to like being a tour-guide too much at the moment to take a break.

Hawkgirl rolled her eyes at the spectacle. "Flash, you know those are a part of the bedrooms, which are _off limits_! Let's just go back and-"

"No, wait!" Flash dashed in front of the Thanagarian. "We could make milkshakes."

"GL banned you from the kitchen until further notice." Hawkgirl deadpanned.

"Come on!" Flash whined. "I don't wanna go back to the stupid meeting! It's boring as hell!"

"Flash, please remember that you brought this upon yourself when I say just pay the two dollars!"

"Aw!"

And in that moment, Flash swore to himself never to show _Ziegfeld Follies_ to anyone else ever again should they use a quote to make a point against him

* * *

By the time the trio had returned to the conference room, the other League members inside were beginning to walk out. Flash sighed loudly in relief. Those meetings were too boring; he'd do _anything_ to avoid them. Maybe if he offered to hang out with Robin, he'd be able to avoid even more meetings. Flash took one look at Robin and Hawkgirl as they both laughed at a joke together and thought against it. The last thing that kid needed was other people taking advantage of him.

As the heroes filed out of the conference room one by one, Flash started having a feeling that he was forgetting something. Did he leave the water running at home?

"Meow!"

"Hey, Mrs. Rose!" Flash brightened at the sight in Batman's arms. "I _knew_ I was forgetting someone!"

"You do realize that the cat's a male, right?" John raised an eyebrow as Flash took the cat from Batman's arms. He flinched as he heard that cat hiss within Flash's rough embrace.

"I'm so sowwy I weft you!" Flash rubbed the cat against his face, ignoring claws unhinging from the cat until they sunk into his skin. John sighed as he heard his friend yelp in pain. This was why he preferred a dog as a pet. Too bad his landlady isn't too keen on animals to begin with...

"I believe that he does not like you that much." J'onn observed. "Perhaps if you handled the kitty more gently."

Superman face-palmed himself. "Flash, _please_ don't get attached to him. We have to return the cat to its owner eventually."

"Alright then, Robin. We'll have a schedule set up for you within three to four weeks' time." Diana spoke to the young hero while the others dealt with the cat now attempting to claw Flash's eyes out.

Robin noticed Batman looking at him and merely stated. "Thank you, Wonder Woman."

"Please, call me Diana."

Robin nodded at this and realized that Batman was now walking away from the small crowd. "Hey Batman, Flash wants to know where that Zeta energy comes from." Robin managed to gain the attention of his mentor and started walking behind the man.

"The stork." The Dark Knight replied blankly.

"I'm serious!"

"Well I'm Batman."

As John succeeded in freeing Mrs. Rose from the grasp of his handler, Hawkgirl winced in sympathy as Flash rubbed the small punctures where the cat's claws had made entry. She sighed with relief as the small holes began to close up.

Flash noticed her staring and smiled at Hawkgirl. "So Hawks. You think Robin's a headache worth having?"

Hawkgirl looked over her shoulder to see Robin still failing to get a real answer about Zeta energy from his mentor as the two figures became smaller in the distance.

"Yeah. I think he's worth the headache."

* * *

**Author's Note: **There you have it folks. I remembered I had an audience. Or I think I do. I'm not sure at the moment.

In case you haven't been noticing, I've been trying to establish a friendship between Hawkgirl and Flash in my story. And since Hawkgirl is Flash's friend (and because we all know that Dick's a sucker for redheads) I decided to reel her into a friendship of sorts with the Boy Wonder as well.

At least I'm trying to. I don't know how to make the chemistry between the characters feel real because I haven't really had no one else's help in that department. I'm trying to avoid the whole "Everyone loves Robin immediately" cliche that seems to pop up in a lot of "Daddybats" stories.

So does anyone have any ideas of how to bring conflict into the group pertaining to Robin? Anything you suggest can help make the story more interesting if you do. Sharing thoughts about the story can help me improve my writing even further, so please don't be shy.

My next update will be on one of two dates: The earliest will be April 25th and the latest will be April 30th.

Please review. Is this a good story? Are there other things to note aside from how mean you think Batman is? Are there ways that I can improve the story if it _isn't good_?

Hopefully, you will see another chapter come up later on this month.

Happy Readings!


	12. Chapter 11: Set in Stone

**Author's Note:** Hello again. I hope you guys are reading this. I'm getting close to where I was previously before the reboot happened.

But I feel like I'm running on fumes now. I know that there are some people responding to this story, but for the most part, I have no idea what everyone else is thinking! I know there are people READING this, but why am I still in the dark about their thoughts?

I ENCOURAGE you to review. Reviews lead to motivation. Ideas lead to faster updates. Faster updates leads to happy readers and satisfied writer if done properly.

...sorry about that, Yoda was speaking through me again.

But seriously guys, I want to know how I'm doing with this story. Are there problems in it? Do you have suggestions for future plot points? ANYTHING?

On another note, anyone see **Batman v. Superman**? I'm not planning on it (mostly due to how _wonderful_ **Man of Steel** was, and therefore did not want to take my chances again) but I'm kind of curious as to how Ben Affleck did as the Dark Knight. Was he any good? Also heard that Eisenberg (the one playing Luthor) did poorly, what did he do wrong? From what I saw from the trailers, I thought he was playing on the insanity part pretty well.

Or was it simply because everyone is so used to seeing him without hair that just the sight of it drove people nuts? Or is this like what I heard about Eddie Redmayne in _Jupiter Ascending_?

On to the story, then!

**Disclaimer: **All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.

* * *

_"Stay with me, the world is dark and wild._

_Stay a child while you can be a child._

_With me."_

The Witch. _Into the Woods_.

* * *

**Chapter 11: **Set in Stone

_Whack!_

The two bo staffs collided once before separating once again. Sweat dripped down Robin's face as he faced his opponent. Diana frowned at the stance the boy had placed himself in. The left foot was tilted outward, the angle he had on the staff was too high. How he was able to hold his own with that weapon for so long was beyond her comprehension.

"Your stance is wrong." Diana gestured with her staff. "If you were to face an opponent like me under different circumstances, you would not last long." _In fact, you would most likely be dead._ She thought grimly.

Robin nodded, adjusting his footing as close as he could to Diana's direction. Once, she had to physically put the boy in the correct position and practice the form several times for the memory to set in. At least he was compliant to her instructions. Some Men just didn't seem that eager to listen to woman, let alone one who had shown them that she was capable of lifting objects fifty times her own weight.

The two resumed their match, Diana restraining herself to prevent serious injury onto the boy. Yet even the slightest tap to the shoulder made him yelp silently in pain. Fortunately however, Robin hardly gave her such an opportunity. For every time she struck a blow, Robin returned three more with less power behind them. He might be agile, but Robin was clearly a textbook example of a glass cannon. Strong, but not durable.

Which was why it was almost insulting that after so many months away from an opponent who practiced in the arts of the bo staff, the first person that claimed talent over that region would end up being beneath her level. It was almost pitiful.

_He is simply a child_. Diana quietly chided herself. _He may grow stronger with age._ It was true. It had only been two months since she began to teach Robin, but he was already showing progress. The only ones who were exempt from training the boy were Superman and Batman, the latter claiming that his training with the boy took place back at their "Batcave".

John suspected that Batman simply didn't want others to observe his training methods. Diana had to agree with the brooding man's reluctance, but for different reasons.

Not for the first time, Diana contemplated the thought of not passing down these forms that she was trying to demonstrate to Robin. Only the Amazons knew of these fighting forms and for good reason. She knew the art of bojutsu perfectly, she had bested the strongest that Themyscira had to offer countless time. If word came back to the island that their teachings were being passed down to a Man, Mother would-

Mother...

Lost in thought, Diana lowered her arms, leaving herself wide open to attack.

WHAM!

Pain throbbed in her side, bringing the Princess back to reality. Her knees sank to the ground as another jab hit her midsection. She looked up to see Robin dropping his staff, his face etched with horror. He must have realized that Diana had dropped her guard by accident.

Not in the mood for dramatics, Diana raised her hand and cut off the boy's stream of apologies.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Robin. Exploiting an opponent's weakness in battle is wise. To not take advantage of such an opportunity is foolish and may come with a price."

"But I HURT you!" Diana sighed at this retort. So the boy thought that she had gifts similar to Superman that included invulnerability. Hera, if only that were true. She might have more endurance than most, but that did not mean she couldn't get hurt from a strong blow.

"I am not like Superman, Robin. I merely match him in strength and speed, nothing more." As she said this, Diana rubbed her bruised side gently, trying to ease herself of the ache. The mere action seemed to set off Robin further, driving him to stammering.

"But-but-but..."

"A true warrior does let emotions control them, regardless of who it is they face on the battlefield." Diana chided. "You acted accordingly. But I think we should end today's session a little early, don't you think? I doubt you are in a mood to continue."

Silently, Robin nodded.

"We shall continue where we left off in two days' time. For now, I suggest you reflect upon what I am telling you and what it means. Understood?"

"Alright." Robin muttered quietly. "Sorry about hurting you."

"It will heal quickly." Diana waved off the apology. "As I have been told, 'don't lose sleep over it.'"

And with that, she walked out of the training room with as much grace as she could muster. Once she no longer sensed Robin's presence, Diana dropped the facade and sank to the floor, clutching her injury all the more firmly.

"Are you alright?"

Diana would deny that she had jumped in surprise at the sound should the conversation ever come up between them again. She would simply recall wincing in pain as J'onn knelt down beside her, an arm wrapped around her waist in support. Instinct made the Princess pry the arm away from her body, refusing to let herself be aided by a Man.

"I am fine, J'onn. Hera knows that I won't feel this way for long."

"And why is that?" J'onn raised an eyebrow. Diana hated that look anyone gave her. It showed that they doubted her. That they saw her as attempting to do something that was beyond her capabilities.

But she tried to hide that frustration from her friend as best as she could. "Because the gods blessed me and my people with healing properties, so that we may continue battle more quickly than most."

"Then you will not mind if I help you heal faster." Without waiting for a response, J'onn pulled Diana from off the ground and guided her down the hallway. By the time they had reached the medical wing, the bruises had indeed vanished for the most part. But that did not stop J'onn from insisting that he examine the injuries as his eyes glowed red in preparation for the use of his x-ray vision.

Diana wondered how it was possible for J'onn and Superman to have similar abilities to one another. Was it simply a coincidence that the Sun granted them both powers of near identical property?

J'onn's eyes returned to their normal ruby-red. "There doesn't appear to be internal damage to the organs. Might I ask how you got those bruises in the first place?"

"Sparring with Robin." Diana smiled ironically.

"As I recall, you once called him an amateur."

"Even amateurs can get lucky. I accidentally left my guard down and he took advantage of it."

"He must be proud." J'onn muttered quietly.

"Far from it." Diana shook her head, distaste dripping into her tone. "He realized that I was distracted when it happened and kept on apologizing for it. He must have assumed that I would be as durable as Superman. Hera, is he strong, but too emotional for combat."

"You make it sound like it is a bad thing." J'onn crossed his arms. "As I recall, my people have heard of a species in another galaxy that gain power through their very emotions."

"That may be true in that world, but as a Amazon, we were trained not to let our emotions guide our actions." And great Hera, did that boy seem to rely on them like a compass!

"You must remember that Robin is not an Amazon, and never will be. And wasn't it your concern for 'Man's World' that lead to you leaving your home in the first place?"

Diana was about to respond when the full meaning behind the question sunk in. Wasn't she the only one on the island that raised concerns for the wellbeing of other innocents? Didn't she fight with her mother over a lack of action on the Amazons' part to give aid.

Didn't she run away to prove that Man's World was worth saving?

"Diana, are you alright?" J'onn's voice broke the Princess out of her thoughts. For a brief moment, Diana saw her friend's eyes glow brightly before fading back to their normal color. Then she felt the sensation of pressure being released from her head and knew.

"You were reading my thoughts!" She accused angrily.

J'onn's face paled at the tone of his friend's voice and had the decency to look away.

"Forgive me." His voice seemed to crack with guilt. "But I sensed a great sorrow within you."

"And now you're sensing a great anger as well for betraying my trust!" Diana threw back, she could feel her face grow hot. "How could you pry into my very mind? I understand that we had to establish a mental connection in order to communicate with one another, but I gave consent that time!" She turned away from her friend, unwilling to meet him in the eyes.

"You miss your home." J'onn's voice seemed to crack. "I am so sorry for violating your trust..."

Diana sighed and turned back to face her friend, trying to ignore the pain the etched itself onto J'onn's face. "I forgive you. But I would like to be alone for the time being."

J'onn nodded sadly.

The Princess walked away, trying to collect herself as best as she could. She had lost composure with J'onn, the only person that she confided her thoughts with. She had yelled at him for reading her thoughts. She should have told him to ask the first time he connected his mind with the rest of the League. She should have controlled herself and maintained the level of calmness that was expected from her.

It had been a long day for her. Perhaps her lapse in composure was from her exhaustion. Yes. That was why Robin was able to land a few blows onto her. That was why she lost her temper so easily with J'onn.

But even so, he assumed incorrectly from the thoughts he had seen.

She did not miss home.

She did not miss it.

* * *

_The wind blew through the curtains, giving the impression of smoke dancing. She took one last look at the room, wondering whether or not she would see this place again. She pulled up the hood of her cloak and treaded lightly, as if her very footsteps would betray her presence to anyone within three kilometers of her current location._

_"Diana?"_

_She froze at the sound of the quiet voice. How in Hera's name did she fail to detect her presence?_

_Diana turned to the voice's owner, putting a mask of __stoicism upon her face in preparation for the conversation that was bound to happen._

_"Sister." The small girl spoke quietly. "You cannot leave. Mother wouldn't allow it."_

_"Mother does not understand the scope of the crisis within Man's World."_

_"She understands that we are not in any danger from it." The girl frowned. "So why must we worry?"_

_"Because there are innocent lives on the line!" Diana almost wanted to yell, she was that frustrated with the lack of care that everyone on the island was demonstrating. But the expression on the girl's face felt different, she frowned also when she was thinking. Perhaps...?_

_"Come with me." This was a calculated risk. If she said yes, then that was the end of it. But if she said no, the worst thing to happen was an attempt to tell Mother in an effort to cease the "nonsense" that Diana was demonstrating. "You understand as well as I do that there are others who aren't as blessed as we are."_

_"What could I do?" The girl questioned quietly._

_Diana gave pause to that question._

_What could her little sister do to help Man's World? She wasn't strong like Diana nor as skilled. In fact, she would rather spend her time reading ancient books written by a "dead philosopher" as Artemis would put it._

_But Diana didn't want to leave the girl alone with the others. She couldn't be there if anything happened to her._

_Would she understand?_

_"Sister." Diana spoke sadly. "I cannot stay within this...prison...any longer. There is nothing else for me to see here."_

_"So you're also doing this for yourself?" The girl's voice quavered._

_"Yes...and no. Sister, may I tell you a secret?" The girl nodded. Diana knelt down to her level and spoke. "For as long as I can remember, I have dreamt of becoming the bridge between Themyscira and Man's World. Maybe what Mother says is true and Men are selfish beings. But I cannot rely on her words alone, I _must_ learn the truth myself. Perhaps this crisis is the gods' way of telling me that it is time."_

_"Then go. Actions speak louder than words."_

_Diana spun around at the sound, her stance ready for battle. She relaxed when she saw the figure bathed in the moonlight. Alexa. Her figure didn't show her Amazon heritage; it was true that her arms were wiry, but perhaps it was more from carrying books all of the time rather than training. She was even carrying one with her right now under her left arm. At least Alexa kept her face and red hair clean of sweat and grime._

_"My departure shall be the worst kept secret on Themyscira if I keep on delaying." Diana frowned. "Alexa, I do not wish to fight you."_

_"Nor I you, Diana." Alexa smile softly. "The heart want what the heart wants, even that which is bad for it. I merely wanted to see you off on your journey with a quote." She pulled the book from under her arm and flipped through the pages until she found the passage she was looking for. Diana already had a feeling what words were going to form on the woman's lips, but she allowed it. Because only Hera knew when she would be able to hear those words again._

_"'As a rock on the seashore he standeth firm, and the dashing of the waves disturbeth him not. In the instant of danger, the courage of his heart sustaineth him and the steadiness of his mind beareth him out.' I pray that you remember these words in Man's World in times where you feel overwhelmed in battle."_

_Arms wrapped around Alexa's waist and it was only a moment before she returned the embrace to Diana._

_"I shall cherish those words, Alexa." Diana whispered. She turned away from Alexa, giving the woman a semi-private moment to wipe the tears that were certainly forming in her eyes now._

_"I must go now." Diana began to make her way out of the room. "Promise me you two shall not tell the Queen of my departure."_

_"Or that you are going to steal her armor from the temple of Athena?" Alexa added cheekily._

_Diana smiled softly. "That would be kind as well."_

_"Sister!"_

_Without hesitation, Diana turned towards the girl and swooped her in an embrace, praying to Hera that she would maintain this moment for as long as she could until her return. If she were to return at all._

_"Promise us that you shall return home before long." The girl whispered. "Promise me."_

_Tears swelled in Diana's eyes. She struggled to ignore how her voice was cracking. "I promise. Donna, I swear that I shall return to you..."_

_I swear..._

* * *

"DONNA!" Diana cried out, greeting the metallic floor as she fell from her bed. For a moment, she tried to stem the flow of tears that were beginning to break through. But then she remembered that there was no one else but her in the room, and so Diana dropped her facade of calm collectiveness and broke down into tears.

She missed home.

* * *

J'onn felt the heavy weight of sorrow within his very being. The overwhelming sense of guilt and sorrow was too strong to ignore. Part of him wanted to phase through the walls until she was in his sight and take her into his arms. But the image of Diana earlier that day when he read her mind returned and the sense of sorrow inside of J'onn was now joined by helplessness.

If only he could rest his eyes and numb himself to the storm of emotions that were now bombarding his mind.

He closed his eyes and began to chant to the Martian gods for Diana's sake.

And for his sake.

* * *

"How about Hermes? You know, for your favorite Speedster?"

"I dunno, Flash, it's making you sound...egotistical." Robin shook his head. This was harder than he had expected. You'd think with the Fastest Man Alive, you could accomplish so much more in just a few moments.

Flash looked at the book and flipped through the pages once more. Robin winced as he heard the sound of paper tearing up and prayed that the damage was minor. "How about Athena?"

"Too cliched."

Flash pouted at this. Robin had to look away to avoid laughing at the expression. An explanation was needed.

"I know for a fact that a lot of kids in my class are going to be doing Athena for their report. And I'd rather give my teacher something else to look forward to aside from another version of how Artemis somehow came out of her dad's head with _clothes on_ and already a woman."

Flash didn't mind it when people called him a pushover. Because it was very true. He was willing to put aside his needs for the sake of others. So it was no real problem when Rob asked him if they could spend time that was meant for lessons and use it to look through the mythology book in his possession for an idea on a topic to write on, Flash couldn't say no.

But after looking through _so_ many characters in that damned book, Flash was ready to scream.

"Come on, we've been looking through this thing for a while now!"

"You said we could work on this right now, though." Robin countered.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would take that long to do!" Flash threw back. Dear God, why didn't he go with Wonder Woman and Superman to assist with that hurricane problem? He looked in the book again and showed a picture of a beautiful woman with a crown on her head. "What about Hera? I bet the Princess will get a kick out of-"

"Too crazy."

Flash blinked several times. "Um...beg pardon?"

"Do you know what she's like in Greek mythology?" Robin groaned when Flash shook his head. "Hera brainwashed Hercules, _twice_, to make him look bad. And she tried to kill one of Zeus' kids before he was born, zapping his poor mom in the process and forcing Zeus to be the first man to give birth through his thighs! _And_ she made it impossible for this other girlfriend of Zeus' to give birth to the gods, Artemis and Apollo, while sending a _flippin' snake_ after her too! _And_-"

"Okay. I get it. Hera's a whack-job-"

"And she reminds me too much of Harley Quinn!" Robin concluded.

Flash halted mid-sentence when he heard this. "Nut-job from Gotham?"

"Nut-job from Gotham." Robin nodded in agreement.

Flash's attention to the book was suddenly diverted to the sound of a door sliding open. Acting quickly, he hid the book and pulled a chalkboard out of nowhere in an effort to make it appear as if he were teaching Robin about physics like he agreed to.

Right as Superman walked in, Flash had already written out a complicated formula on the board and placed Robin - who was currently wondering how the hell he was placed in a chair that quickly - in front of the board and made it sound like he were finishing off a lecture. All in the course of three seconds too. A new record!

"-and in conclusion." Flash stifled a chuckle at the use of that cliched line. "E equals MC^2. Any questions?"

Superman made his way towards where Robin was sitting and raised his hand. Flash tried to ignore this until Superman began to clear his throat loudly in an attempt to get the Speedster's attention.

Sighing, Flash pointed to the Man of Steel. "Yes. You in the blue tights."

"Yeah, so was the number 42 added into the equation before or after Einstein's death? And if it was before, then how come no one ever thought to remember to keep the number in question with the rest of the equation?"

Flash examined the board and felt like hitting himself in the head. At rapid speed. "That is an excellent question...that I unfortunately do not have the time to answer...classdismissed!" And with that, he zoomed out of the room, leaving Robin to handle the potential lecture.

"Coward." Robin grumbled under his breath, but a smirk had already made its way onto his face.

"Exactly how did Flash get that chalkboard in the Watchtower to begin with?" Superman chuckled as he examined the object in question.

"I'm asking myself the same question right now. How'd the mission go?"

At this, Superman's smile faltered slightly. "Well enough, I suppose. People were hurt from falling debris, but that's always going to be a given during disaster, but no body count." _At the moment_. "And Diana-" Superman suddenly stopped, as if realizing he was about to reveal something he shouldn't.

Robin couldn't help but blurt out. "Diana what?"He cursed himself for his curiosity, there were times that he knew that he should stay out of something.

"She...seemed distracted for the most part." Superman sighed. "Diana almost dropped a telephone pole she was holding onto civilians."

Robin's eyes widened. Wasn't there something about checking people psychologically before sending them out in the line of duty? What was Superman _thinking?! _Then Robin remembered the day before during his spar with her. Was she still injured? Did he somehow put people at risk, with Wonder Woman being too proud to confess to being injured? He felt his head limp down to the ground, shame swelling within his stomach.

Superman didn't fail to notice this. "Is there something wrong?" He knelt down in front of the boy and gently placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "You can tell me, you know."

"Wonder Woman wasn't doing good today because of me." Robin whispered.

Superman's eyes widened. Where was _this _coming from? Mentally, he wondered if Batman somehow put it in Robin's head that he was having a negative impact on the rest of the Justice League, but he doubted that. Bruce was bad at parenting, that much could be said. But the very idea of him doing that to Dick was very unlikely. For the moment, he put that worry aside and decided to get a direct answer.

"Why do you think you're at fault for Diana's performance today, Rik-El?" Robin drew himself closer to Superman upon the use of his Krytonian name. That was the closest thing to a public name that the man would be able to refer to the boy as in the Watchtower.

Robin swallowed, trying to find the right words. "We were sparring...yesterday...and I _hit_ her when her guard was down...Wonder Woman said she was...fine, but I think her injury is the reason she wasn't doing so well today."

Robin felt two fingers wrap around his chin and tilted him up gently, making him look into Superman's eyes.

"You didn't hurt Diana, she heals almost as quickly as the Flash. Maybe even faster." Superman explained. "Her performance today had nothing to do with you. I think she's just a bit homesick."

Robin sighed in relief when he heard this. "What makes you think that she's homesick?"

Superman smiled. "When Diana rescued this little girl and brought her back to her mother, I think watching the two interact reminded Diana of her own mother. In fact, I think she's off to visit her home right now."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I put that idea in her head."

"Great." Robin smiled. A thought came to him. "But...wait. Didn't I hear you guys mention how Wonder Woman had a hard time getting _off_ her home in the first place? How do you expect her to visit home without any problems?"

"Because I told her to borrow the Javelin when we got back."

"..."

"What?"

"How are _we_ supposed to get off of the Watchtower when the only ship available is with Wonder Woman?"

"I have a theory-" Superman began slowly.

"Theories don't count!"

* * *

_You look more radiant than ever, Mother._ Diana imagined saying these words in her head as she flew the Javelin. She could act as if there was nothing wrong, perhaps seeing Diana would distract her mother from any concerns she might have had. Flattery might distract the issue for a while, but she knew the Queen too well to hope for that. _No. _Her mother might be suspicious of her daughter's location all this time. Hippolyta would brush the complement aside and demand to know where her daughter was, command her as her queen.

What if she could just make an excuse? It wasn't like Diana never did that before. _Gone, Mother? I didn't go anywhere. I was in my room... alone...for the past eight months..._ What kind of person would fall for an excuse like _that? _Even _she_ was having a hard time believing her own lie!

The closer Diana felt herself reach home, the more she imagined a furious Queen Hippolyta glaring daggers at her, demanding an explanation. If push came to shove, then..._The world was in peril! Would you have me stand by and do nothing? _

Was it really worth stealing from the Temple of Athena to obtain the armor now adorning her body? All for the sake of sparing Man's World from the wrath of the parasite aliens? She could have gone home afterwards. What was stopping her from doing so? So many questions would come afterwards in those forms, Hippolyta demanded complete explanations for wrong doings. Would Diana be forgiven if she admitted that curiosity kept her in Man's World, to discover everything about it? Or even admitting that one of her male colleagues was dangerously interesting?

_Hera give me strength..._

Superman was right about the Javelin. As she felt the ship rattle slightly, Diana was amazed that she was flying through the harsh winds much more easily. And there was also no damage reports, so everything seemed to be in check. Within moments of thinking this, Themyscira was in sight. All of her worries were briefly forgotten as Diana admired the beauty of her home from above. The trees that were spread across the island, the buildings still as white and artistic as ever, and Diana's favorite, the waves crashing among the shores like they always do.

With this sight, a sense of hope swelled in Diana's chest. Perhaps Alexa and Donna had beseeched to Mother and made her see reason. Perhaps the worst to happen would be a scolding.

As the Javelin landed onto the sandy shore, Diana expected to see some guards patrolling the beach within seconds. But there was no one running up to her, no one to investigate the loud noises by the beach.

What in Zeus's name is going on?

She walked at a slow pace, half expecting someone to make themselves known to her before Diana reached the edge of the cliff. Diana looked down at the sand and saw no signs of anyone patrolling this area for a while. The only explanation that Diana could think of could be that the waves could have simply washed them away but the guards always walked as far from the shore as possible.

_Ironic._ Diana thought as she continued walking across the beach. _This was the same place Mother and I talked. When was the last time I disagreed with her about fate? Did she think I would forget all about the woes that Men's World were facing and move on? _She could even hear her mother talking right now, the last words Diana heard her say to her before both ceased speaking to one another in frustration.

_"Why should we worry for those who are beyond our border?"_

_Because the gods didn't gift us with a sense of morality just so that we would waste it_. Diana repeated the retort she delivered to her mother in her head.

And then she saw the black smoke up ahead.

Her heart started beating faster than usual as scenarios began filling Diana's head. She started running towards the city, too worried to remember how to fly at the moment. Her feet began hitting stone, but Diana could hardly feel what was underneath her at the moment. So much worry was filling Diana'a head that she didn't see the statue in front of her and collided with it. Out of instinct, Diana caught the stone before it hit the ground and set it upright again. That was too close, someone must have worked very hard on it, Diana swore that it looked just like...

Aello! Great Hera, it looked just like the Queen's bodyguard! A look of horror was etched across the statue's face...Diana turned around and found herself face to face with another statue, her fists clenched in a fighting stance.

Alcippe! Such a brave woman.

There was another statue-no, Amazon-only ten feet away from Aclippe's form. The expression remained defiant, although the head was turned towards Aclippe, the expression hinting that she was witness to Aclippe's fate before joining her as well.

This was Asteria...she was too stubborn to go down without a fight.

Diana looked all around her, seeing nothing but gray and stone. What in Hera's name happened here? Her sisters...they are all in front of her. She grieved more for some than the rest, those she knew the best. Celaneo, Deianeira, Eurybe, Phoebe, Philippis, Prothoe.

But where were Artemis and Donna?

Had they escaped? Or would Diana find their stone forms somewhere else on the island? Stranger - and possibly just as hopeful - Diana could not see the form of Artemis among the victims. Perhaps she was with Alexa and Donna? Yes, that had to be it. Otherwise, she would have seen her face among the many other stone ones as well.

Without thinking, Diana looked in the direction of the temple of Athena. Her feet began to act on their own, guiding her towards the building. Why was she doing this? Did she wish to pray for guidance? Was there a slimmer of hope that someone escaped the same fate as the rest of her sisters? Diana didn't know, she just ran. As she entered the sacred temple, Diana saw a figure in the back. There was still hope!

Her feet kicked off of the ground, carrying her to...to...

"Mother!" Diana gasped.

There she was, a look of surprise etched across the Queen's face. Diana almost rushed to embrace her when she was within five feet of the woman and stopped. A sword was held out before her, poised for attack. An attack that would never come, towards a person that wasn't there...

Diana walked up to the petrified form of her mother and pressed her forehead against the woman's.

"Forgive me, Mother," Diana whispered, unable to hold back her tears any longer, "I've failed you..."

Diana held the concrete statue that was her mother close in her arms, weeping softly. She was too late. Her home, her family, it was all gone now. Only Hera knew if mother and daughter would ever meet again on Olympus. She examined her mother's face frozen in time, trying to get a clear picture of what she might have thought in her last moments.

Her usually gray eyes were piercing even in this state, furrowed into a glare like she always does in anger or frustration. The stance was obviously a sign that her attacker was close to her sword, possibly too close for comfort. Her pale lips were sealed tight; a usual sign that the Queen was trying to control her emotions at the time. Was she bottling up her grief over the many warriors who sacrificed themselves to protect their Queen?

Was she defiant to the end? Knowing that it was a losing battle but believed that she might have been able to spare a few of her people from the attack? Or did she truly believe that she would have been able to take down the intruder once and for all despite the sacrifices made? Diana suspected that it might have been the latter, as her mother could be _very_ stubborn.

Or was she hiding her true feelings underneath her looks? Were her last thoughts of the prodigal daughter that she would never see again?

"I should have been here to protect you." Diana whispered to the statue. "I should have-"

Diana's leg brushed against something, prompting her to look. Beside the statue was a shield, its reflective surface shining in the torchlight, untouched by whatever affected the other Amazons. In the reflection, there was a figure in the distance, garbed in purple robes. An intruder! They must have been the one who attacked the others! As the figure came closer in the reflection, Diana could barely make out the person's face. A man!

A man on the island of the Amazons?!

Her blood boiled with rage, and Diana threw the shield at the intruder, hitting the man in the stomach and sending him flying several feet. For a moment, Diana thought that it was the end of him. But then she saw the man rize from the ground, looking somewhat ruffled, but unscathed for the most part. She saw his lips move, but didn't understand what language he was speaking.

It was only when small red balls of energy generated from the man's hands and flew towards the Amazon did she begin to understand the meaning. Diana ducked and somersaulted and dodged the attacks with ease, leaving her mother's form exposed to her opponent. She cursed herself for this lapse in thought for leaving her mother vulnerable to attack. Stone or not, Diana refused to believe that the woman was dead. The man seemed to notice this and began directing his attacks towards the statue instead.

She quickly got in the path of the attack and deflected each orb with her bracelets, sending energy ricocheting off of the walls. Yet the force from each blow pushed her back further and further. The man pressed forward with his attacks, sending more orbs of energy flying at a faster rate, almost too fast for the Amazon to deflect easily. If this kept up, then the man would be able to overcome Diana and possibly give her the same fate as her sisters.

The Amazon backed up slowly while deflecting the onslaught of attacks, ideas upon ideas forming in her mind, each more feeble than the last. When she felt stone nudge her in the back, Diana wrapped her arms around the statue that was her mother and flew off into the air. She felt something hot graze her shoulder, her left arm losing grip on the statue. The orb continued flying until it hit the ceiling, causing debris to fall. Diana avoided the rubble and hid her mother behind the statue of Athena itself. Something grazed past her cheek too close for comfort, the momentum spinning Diana off her axis and making her brush past what appeared to be a shield.

Which Diana grabbed a hold of and threw back in the direction of the intruder.

The man managed to duck just in time before he felt his face collide with a boot. He was sent flying twenty feet across the temple before reuniting with the ground once more. An arm grabbed him from the collar of the man's shirt and he found himself staring into Diana's eyes.

"How dare you defile this sacred ground!" Diana growled threateningly.

"Harm me and the others will remain what they are: cold, hard stone." The man wheezed out when he saw the Amazon raise her other fist in preparation for a beat down.

Realization came to Diana's face as the intruder said this. She satisfied herself with slamming the man to the ground again before barking. "Who are you? Talk!"

"Felix Faust." The man replied calmly, picking himself from off the ground and began to brush off dirt that had collected in his robes. "A humble student of the mystic arts."

"Why did you attack my sisters?" Diana demanded.

"An excellent question." Faust replied nonchalantly, "Let me answer that with another question: What must a man do to defend himself against women who are enraged beyond reason and unwilling to listen to a man explain himself?" He growled at the end of this, barring his teeth at the Princess.

"You 'defended' yourself by turning everyone to stone!?" Diana shouted, her face becoming more and more red with each passing second, "Why did you come to this place? _How_ did you come to this place?"

"In pursuit of ultimate knowledge, one must find many a way to achieve such a goal." Faust held up his hands as a sign of peace, though his face remained indifferent, uncaring. "I was in search of fragments of an ancient sacred relic that would help me gain this. Unfortunately...the first piece was on this island. Right where you're standing, actually."

Diana looked down at her feet and saw what appeared to be a smooth, black lever. She looked at Faust her face softening slightly, yet her voice still as harsh. "At the cost of trespassing on sacred ground that no man has set foot on for the last millennia?"

The smile that Faust gave to her felt sadistic. "Such is the price for pursuing the truth. Violations in privacy are a common thing in the pages of history." His smile faded when Diana roughly grabbed a hold of the man by the collar of his robe and brought him close to her face.

"Then I am certain that you are prepared to face the consequences of your actions."

"I regret that such a thing had to occur on your home." Diana's frown deepened. Despite the danger he was in, this Faust man still maintained an air of coolness about him. It wasn't until he saw the dagger that had found its way into the woman's hand that his voice gave way to panic. "And I can reverse the spell that I placed upon your sisters!"

For a moment, Faust saw a glimmer of hope in the woman's eyes before it was replaced with doubt.

"How will I know you will keep your word?" Diana insisted.

In reply, Faust rummaged through one of his pockets with his left hand before pulling out a flat piece of stone.

"Look at the image on this medallion." Faust said. "Do you recognize what is on it?"

The moment Diana saw the green snakes, she gasped with horror and shielded her eyes quickly.

Faust laugh unkindly at this. "Fool. An immortal like yourself would know that a creature's powers are impossible to replicate completely. The image will only work upon command of the owner. Bring your mother over here and I will show you."

Diana raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't worry." Faust replied. "What I am offering can happen. My word is my bond."

When Diana brought her petrified mother to the warlock, Faust muttered something the Amazon could not understand and a flash of yellow light poured out of the medallion. When the light faded, Diana heard a gasp and saw the Queen stagger as if from exhaustion before she fell to the ground.

"Mother!" Diana cried out as she embraced her mother in her arms.

"Diana?" The Queen replied weakly. She closed her eyes. "If I am dreaming, let me never awaken. If I am awake, never let me sleep."

"I'm home." She felt her eyes water as her mother's strong arms wrapped themselves around her daughter's waist.

"Athena be praised." The Queen gazed upon her daughter's face with joy. Her face fell when her eyes gazed upon Faust. "The intruder!"

Diana felt her mother remove herself from the embrace and stand upright. She gasped, "Mother-"

"We must stop the intruder." the Queen picked up her fallen sword and shield before getting into a fighting stance. "We must!"

As the elder Amazon charged at Faust, another flash of light filled the room and the place where the woman was standing was now empty. Diana spun around and saw her mother by Faust's side, trapped in an orange bubble. The Queen banged her fists against the barrier around her before Faust raised his hands again, and the woman screamed with agony as if shocked by electricity. She then collapsed to the bottom of the bubble and did not move.

"Monster!" Diana growled.

"That was merely a demonstration." Faust shrugged nonchalantly. "I considered turning her to stone again, but what better way to attract prey than to hold what it loves dearly right in front of them?"

Diana clenched her fists and charged at the man. "You can go straight to-"

"I shall make you a deal." Faust sneered. "We both want something from one another. I want the remaining fragments without much trouble. You want your people and your _mother_ to be returned to you in one piece. What if _you_ were to collect the remaining three artifacts in my stead, child?"

The way he said "child" was demeaning, as if he were calling Diana a fool or weakling. It was obvious that Faust was only taunting Diana now. He _expected_ her to attack, to give him a reason to change his mind. One look at her unconscious mother was all it took to take the fight out of Diana.

"Fine." Diana grumbled.

"Good." Faust grinned, "You must gather the remaining relics within...-"

An hourglass materialized out of nowhere and turned upside down, sand now falling at a slow pace.

"Twenty-four hours." Faust finished. "Or else our proposition shall be nullified ."

"Where do I find these relics?" Diana demanded. "You don't seem to be giving any clues at the moment."

"Then hold your tongue and let me finish, woman!" Faust spat in the Amazon's face. He held up his hand and bits of rubble floated up. They pressed against each other until they formed three stones, which then floated into Diana's hands. One was red, one was yellow, and one was blue.

"These will help you find the relics, since you are not competent enough to locate them on your own." Faust sneered, "As you come close to one of the relics, they will vibrate. I wish you good luck on your quest...you will need it!"

"What kind of man are you?" Diana glared.

"A practical one." Faust replied.

Diana began to make her way out of the temple when she stopped in her tracks. She had to find out somehow...

"Faust. There are three Amazons that I could not find amongst your...work. One of them is a child. Have they suffered the same fate as the rest of my people?"

The sorcerer tapped his chin in thought. "A child...a child...could the child and other two that you be speaking of be the same ones I imprisoned in another dimension when I could not petrify them? Perhaps we should add them into our negotiation as well. Though you might want to hurry, time waits for no one." Diana was tempted to wipe that arrogant sneer off of the man's face.

As she made her way out of the temple, Diana contemplated contacting Batman for information. _No_. She decided. _Batman might have enough to deal with right now. Hold on, Donna, I'll get you back._

* * *

"As a rock on the seashore, he standeth firm. And the dashing of the waves disturbeth him not-"

"Alexa, _please_ silence yourself. You are 'disturbeth-ing' me very much!" A tall woman glared at the one chanting.

"Forgive me, Artemis, I am simply trying to calm myself." Alexa mumbled, her hands trembling in her lap.

"Then chant it in your head so the rest of us don't hear it!" Artemis turned away. "This is not right. We should be fighting this intruder, not hiding like rats!"

"But isn't that what our people have done for over a thousand years?" A small voice broke out. Artemis turned to the culprit and glared.

"How dare you say such things! I expected Alexa to preach of such things, but you, Donna? Diana would be disappointed in you."

"Diana is near." Donna ignored the heated words thrown at her and closed her eyes.

Artemis facepalmed herself. "This pressure has finally gotten to you, hasn't it?! Hera help us all, before we succumb to the illness of insanity."

"Not at all, Artemis." Donna opened her eyes once more. The next words that came out of her mouth made her sound like the soothsayers of the past. "I can feel it."

* * *

**Author's Note**: And with that, this chapter has ended. And published a lot sooner than I expected, too. (Smiles gleefully).

That scene with Superman and Robin was supposed together was initially meant to have Robin snap at Superman for having Wonder Woman be on duty without being evaluated psychologically, but then I remembered that he felt bad about Diana's injury the day previous and thought that he would blame himself for her distractive behavior.

After watching the 2009 film, _Wonder Woman_, I felt that the character, Alexa (voiced by Tara Strong), was a character with great potential, but wasted for plot development. And considering her friendship with Diana, it felt right to have her see off Diana on her journey with Donna. Having her quote that phrase she repeated in the film sounded in character too.

As for Donna, she was originally one of the Amazons turned to stone, but in the original run, no one seemed to notice this. I even tried to hint at it, but that was before I decided to reboot the story altogether. And that is where the dream/flashback sequence came from.

For the most part, the second half of the chapter was just cut and copied from my original take and has mostly stayed intact. (Which is why I have updated so quickly!) But of course, I had to make a few adjustments here and there to add more cohesive storytelling. The scene between Robin and Flash was supposed to happen later, but I had to address the mission from the "Paradise Lost" episode somehow without simply copying and pasting it into my story.

Now _that_ is just bad writing and I admit that I was somewhat guilty of that when I was writing this arc in the past. But no more!

Happy Readings!


	13. Chapter 12: A 'Spacious' Problem

**Author's Note:** Sorry about that, guys. I had final exams to deal with and then spent the next few days afterwards going from packing up to go home and then recuperating with little success. The lack of sleep apparently has something to do with allergies.

Then it just got difficult to write for at least several more weeks...

On to the story, then!

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Batman and the Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: A 'Spacious' Problem**

* * *

Superman was known to be a man of great patience. The fact that he could endure someone like Alexander Luthor was proof enough. After all, he always held the belief in truth, justice, and the American Way. The idea of fairness and equality, not violence and ignorance. Someone like him had to set an example to the world. After all, if he lost his patience so easily with someone like the Flash-

"-weretrappedweretrappedwereptrappedweretrappedweretrapped-"

-what kind of man would he be?

"-weretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrapped-"

Patient indeed. He could easily ignore the continuous onslaught of wind that the Speedster kept on creating as the man was clearly going into a full-blown meltdown by running around frantically in the Watchtower. He was patient. If he could deal with Diana not answering her communicator, then he could surely handle this...

"-weretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrapped-"

Next to Batman, the man before him going into a full-blown panic was nothing.

"-weretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrappedweretrapped-"

He was definitely as cool as cucumber.

"-weretrappedweretrappedweretra-"

"Flash, for God's sake, just calm down!" Superman snapped, a headache already forming - _again!_ \- from the onslaught of noise. He took several deep breaths, focusing all of his energy towards reducing the volume that his ears were receiving.

"Trapped. In a station. In space." Flash emphasized each sentence as he spoke, as if it would get his point across better. The Man of Steel merely shook his head at this.

"We're not trapped-"

"There is a certain term to use in this situation that I find to be appropriate." J'onn furrowed his eyebrows. "I believe it is, how you say, what the hell?"

Had J'onn actually looked angry instead of confused, it would have made the silence slightly less awkward.

This was not how Superman expected the day to occur. First, there was Diana feeling homesick and almost getting herself hurt several times during the hurricane evacuation, so he figured that a visit would make things better. After all, he visited Ma and Pa at least every other week.

Then Robin questioned why Javelin 7 was in her possession in the first place. To say he wasn't pleased with the whole "theory" on how to get to Earth in a different fashion would be an understatement. Which lead to Flash overhearing this and then passing the word to J'onn, who looked beyond pissed at Superman's supposed "stupidity."

Then again, maybe giving Diana the only ship available really was on a completely new level of stupid...thank God Batman wasn't here to rub it in.

"I said I had a theory..." Superman began calmly.

"-And _I _said that theories don't count-"

"Robin, let me finish. _Please_." He emphasized that last term slowly, willing himself to remain level-headed for his godson's sake. "I think Batman would suspect that this sort of thing would happen-"

"Your point?" Flash crossed his arms.

Superman sighed deeply. "So maybe he might have made a teleporter for such an occasion."

"If that was the case, then why would Batman keep this information from us?" J'onn levitated off of the ground, his legs crossing in midair as he prepared himself for meditation.

_Because Batman doesn't like sharing his toys with others_. That was the answer that slowly made its way out before dying right as it touched the lips, leaving an ashy taste in the mouth. There was no answer to this question because that would have been out of character for Batman to do. Right?

Fortunately, Flash was able to pick up on Superman's stumped expression.

"I think it's safe to say that Batman hasn't _gotten_ to making a teleporter for the Watchtower yet."

J'onn's eyes were closed as he spoke, his voice unwavering. "I suggest we call Green Lantern and have him transport us back to Earth for the time being."

Superman shook his head at that. "Can't. He and Hawkgirl are offworld on another mission...but I guess it wouldn't hurt to know how far they are just to be safe."

"Way ahead of you, Supes!" Flash pressed into his ear. "Yo, John. How's the mission going?...no, I wasn't in your room again...alright, I was, but that's not the reason I called, how far are you from Earth?...that far?...you close to done with the mission?...alright...Flash out."

Flash looked up at Superman nervously. The Man of Steel waited patiently to hear the full story on John's side when he noticed Flash's eyes slowly began to widen before the younger man uttered.

"Berightback."

Several moments later, Superman's communicator beeped loudly in his ear. At the lowest volume possible. He pressed into the device, wondering for a moment if it was Diana on the other line.

"Superman here."

"IMONEARTHIMONEARTHIMONEARTH!" Flash's voice boomed in Superman's ear, making the man wince in pain. "THETELEPORTERTHATBRINGSFOODUPCANSENDUSBACKTOEARTHYOUJUSTHAVETOBEINSIDEOFONEOFTHECRATESORITWONTTAKEYOUATALL!"

"Lower your voice, Flash." Superman rubbed his ear. Rao, was he loud! "Say that again _slowly_."

"Alright, alright. Yeesh! The teleporter that sends up food can bring you down to Earth. Get into the delivery room, find a crate and get it on the pad before hopping into it."

Superman's eyes widened. "Wait...you just tested this right now? Do you realize how dangerous that was?!"

"Supes, Supes, Supes." The image of Flash shaking his head in mock disappointment came to be. "I may not be a man of...weird energy things. But I know when something is safe for children to use."

"Do you really expect me to just try this little stunt of yours without properly testing it?"

"...if I say 'yes', will you try to kill me?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the very short chapter, but consider this a little warm up for the next one. This was really difficult to write, mostly because I felt that there was too much angst and drama in the mix. It also felt too bland, but I just needed to get something out after at least two months of silence. This scene was mostly made to try to point out what I believe to be a plot hole in the Justice League cartoon.

If Diana had the Javelin 7, and if there was only one ship for the League to use, then what would happen if someone took the only mode of space transportation that doesn't rely on a emerald ring and left several heroes on the Watchtower with no way out?

I just wished the writers explained it a bit better.

Next update will come up sooner and with more length, I promise.


	14. Chapter 13: Royal Reality

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong To DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League Cartoon.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Royal Reality**

_I should call Batman, he might be able to find more about this Faust character_. Her hand hovered over a button; just one push, and the signal would reach the grim hero. The image of her mother trapped in the sphere returned, Donna joining their mother in her woeful screams this time. That vision was quickly replaced by Robin being dragged into the water by a scaly creature.

The look on Superman's face made her think that the boy nearly drowned.

_No, the last thing I should do is put Robin at risk._

Diana paused in her musings, realizing that this was the first time she ever took Robin's safety into consideration. She wasn't reluctant to teach him in the beginning, actually quite eager with the hopes of curing him of the disease that was Male Superiority. The only reason Diana forced herself to go at a gentler pace than usual was Batman's cold warning not to harm him shortly before the lessons started.

Why was she worried now?

_Please come back, sister._

Donna.

Diana choked down a sob when she realized that this was the first time in months that she was thinking of her sister. All but forgotten until now.

The pressure that appeared in her chest the moment Diana first lay her eyes on her fellow sisters incarcerated in stone had been growing for some time now. Her mother, now at the mercy of that bastard, Faust. Gods know what his lustful Male instincts might lead to...

Her sister, Donna, so young and innocent, trapped in whatever hellhole she was thrown into. That alone would break her fragile soul.

Alexa, her dearest friend. She seemed more fragile than Donna. It wouldn't take much to break her. And Artemis...Diana had no doubt that she would remain mostly the same; aching to take her anger out on the nearest offender.

Hera help Faust, should Artemis find her way to him...

Her chest began to feel heavy, as if she were beginning to suffocate from her grief and anxiety. Is this what it actually felt like to have something precious on the line?

But that didn't make sense. She had been in combat with the League many a time. She had seen Flash get shot at, his red suit slowly started to show dark red trails that was his blood. Hawkgirl was nearly killed once when she took on that giant robot. Even J'onn put himself at risk to rescue children from fiery buildings, despite the fact that his body could not handle intense heat as well as even the Men and Women that Diana served to protect each day.

So why was this different?

"Diana, come in." The radio sprung to life, Batman's voice filtering through.

_How did he contact me?_ Diana thought. _I thought it was on radio silence. _That was when she noticed her hand hovering over the radio itself, the ghost sensation of pressure still lingering. Was she losing focus that much that she was starting to do things unconsciously now? Hera, help her.

"Diana, answer me!" Batman's voice grew more impatient. "Where are you? Superman's been trying to reach you for a while now. Something about being stuck on the Watchtower with no way out."

She had to say something. "My apologies, Batman. I was unaware that Superman has been trying to contact me for some time now."

"That's usually the case when you're on radio silence."

"I needed some silence. And how come you're the first person I'm hearing and not Superman?" The words came out of Diana's mouth before she realized what was going on. Considering that this was Batman she was talking to, the answer most likely to be received would be-

_Because I'm Batman._

-that one...great Hera, if she had to hear that retort one more time...

"-haven't done that yet and Diana, are you even listening to me?"

Diana shook her head, as if it would rattle the confusion from her mind. This was too much for her to deal with right now. Too much was going on for her to handle at once. Donna was in danger...her people needed her...

She began to open her mouth when the image of her mother screaming in agony came into view for the fifth time in a row. If Diana told Batman, then he might hold her back and delay her from saving the other Amazons...

And Mother and Donna would suffer more...

And if Robin were to get involved...

Diana's voice came out weak and hollow, "I'm sorry, I have to go."

And with that, she pressed her finger over the radio, cutting off her only connection to the rest of the world once more. With the only sound filling the air now being one of the colored stones vibrating and glowing more brightly with each passing moment...

* * *

"Diana? Diana, come in!" Batman kept his voice level, trying to get a response from the other end. He waited for a minute, silently willing Diana to respond to him, to let him know she was still talking to him. The sound of static filling the air confirmed his concerns. "Damn it!"

Batman went over to the computer of the Batcave - apparently dubbed the Bat-Computer by Clark and Richard now - and started hammering at the keyboard for a few moments.

"Computer," Batman spoke, "Track coordinates on Javelin-7."

The image quickly turned into a radar, a red dot among the green screen indicating the location of the ship. Diana seemed to be heading west for some odd reason. Superman did say that she was probably going to spend a few days back home with her family if things went well, but since the Javelin was moving back towards the mainland, it must have been the opposite.

It was times like these that Batman appreciated the things he did to ensure that nothing could escape his sight.

If this was anybody else, they might consider this to be a form of stalking or a violation of a person's trust. But this was Batman behind the wheel, and he knew no limits to privacy, not even Robin could have much of a moment of peace without suspecting that a camera was recording his every movement.

Satisfied that the Javelin was still being tracked, Batman typed on the keyboard once more and the radar on screen vanished and was replaced by the interior of the Watchtower, courtesy of the security cameras installed. He checked each one individually, trying to monitor the positions of the members trapped inside.

So far, there was no red blur on the camera screen anymore, which meant Flash had - _finally_ \- stopped wearing down the floors. Which meant that he was either recovering calories that his speed stole from him or was forced to a halt by someone with authority, i.e. Superman or J'onn. Robin might get the Speedster to listen, but only if he deemed it necessary to intervene.

Batman quickly checked passed one of the cameras located in the transport room, vaguely taking note of the tall, green Martian stepping onto the platform before the screen changed. He blinked and returned to the formal screen just in time to see J'onn enter a wooden crate before it vanished in a bright light.

So they decided to use the teleporters meant for supplies in order to leave the Watchtower? Ingenious, while at the same time reckless as well. They had no idea where they were going and might cause a stir if they were to appear out of nowhere.

The mere stupidity of using one of the supply teleporters recklessly was something that would be expected of the Flash...

In his mind, Batman started writing down a simple message: _Note to self; discourage Flash from employing his ideas by any means necessary._

* * *

Robin rubbed his eyes as the light fading, specks of light danced in his vision - _so this is what "seeing stars" is like _\- before he tested his limbs. He nodded to himself with each new observation: no signs of blood, no missing limbs or organs, and yet he felt like he had just gotten a vague idea of what Apparating was really like if the few brief seconds of no breath were any indication.

But now there was the fact that he was standing inside of a wooden crate, with the lid closed on top of himself.

Let it be known to all that Robin would consider Zeta beams the tools of the Devil from that day forward...

Robin's musings were cut short as light entered from above as the lid was removed carefully. He struggled in protest as he felt strong arms gently lift him from out of the crate, refusing to let himself be coddled by Flash, regardless of how friendly he was. He _refused_ to be babied by other people.

After Flash placed him down and moved the crate off the platform, another crate appeared in a flash of light, with J'onn phasing through the crate the moment it became darker again.

J'onn crossed his arms as he spoke. "Does anyone have an idea of our whereabouts?"

"Metropolis." Flash answered in quick succession. "Batman told me that the food supplies always comes from Supey's hometown, er, turf, I mean."

Robin shifted his gaze from the sheepish-looking Flash to the man he was referring to, who stood in one corner of the room in rapt conversation on his communicator - _it must be Batman, Uncle Clark would be frustrated if it were Wonder Woman_. He looked from where he was standing, which was about seven feet away, and then to where J'onn was standing in the back, at least two feet away. Robin started to feel claustrophobic.

"-I was against this idea too, Batman, that's why I volunteered to go after Flash first - _yes_, it only worked if you were inside of a crate! Yes, I know you were unsure if it were safe to use until now, but you should have told us this beforehand!...What are you...?...Alright, we'll go after her ASAP...Yes, Robin's here. Why? He _won't _be in danger, he's not going to be in a fight...alright, Superman out."

Superman turned to face the two adults and child in the room. "Turns out Batman knew more about the teleporters than he let on."

"Tell him I said thanks for letting us know." Flash grumbled under his breath.

Superman ignored this and continued. "He also has Diana's location on radar. Apparently, the Javelin is heading towards Gotham. Whatever she's doing, we need to catch up to her and fast."

Robin tugged at his gloves uncomfortably. "Where do I fit in all of this?"

"Don't expect a fight to happen." Superman explained. "You'll be able to tag along for the time being. Flash, I'm trusting you to get Robin to Gotham _unharmed_."

Flash saluted at this. "Rodger Dodger!"

Superman nodded to the Martian as he floated towards the exit. "J'onn, you're with me. We're gonna have to split into two groups. We'll come in on the West End, you two will come in on the South."

For once, Robin felt sympathy with his mentor's attitude toward Superman as he felt irritation enter his voice. "Shouldn't we, you know, just signal her and then talk? Like _adults?_"

"Diana turned off her communicator and wouldn't say anything to Batman. Like I said, don't expect a fight, We just need to get her attention first."

J'onn narrowed his eyes at this. "I must agree with the boy. Your plan might invoke violent retribution as a result."

Superman sighed. "Alright. We'll find her first, _then_ work our way from there."

"You know, I'm starting to get Batman now..."

"Very funny, Robin." Superman replied sarcastically. He made his way towards the door and opened it, taking a moment to step out before taking to the air. J'onn followed suit shortly afterwards. Robin reluctantly got onto Flash's back, thankful that there were no comments about a "Flash Express" this time. Just when it seemed like they were about to take off, Flash gasped in horror.

"OH GOD!"

"What is it?" Robin couldn't help but sound alarmed at the loud cry.

"Mrs. Rose is still in the Watchtower!"

"..."

"What?"

"Shut up, Flash!"

* * *

Diana's head was spinning from shifting her eyes on the skies in front of her to the stones that lay immobile on her lap. The image of her mother kept popping up in her mind, like it was meant to taunt her throughout her quest. Suddenly, she felt the red stone rumble violently, to the point where it fell to the floor of the Javelin. Quickly picking it up, Diana felt the vibrations growing stronger as she continued flying, but then died down after a few moments.

She turned the jet around, trying to pinpoint the location of the artifact. Several times, the stone went from shaking violently like an addict to as still as a statue. Finally, Diana realized that she was hovering over the location the entire time and lowered the Javelin into the city of Gotham.

Now the stone in her hand was shaking so much that it almost slipped from her grasp. Then, like a needle on a compass, the stone slowly turned, resisting the hand the held it. When Diana let it lay flat on her palm, the sharper point on the rock rotated until it faced a building to Diana's right.

The Amazon flew towards it, seeing a sign that proclaimed: **Museum of Arts and Science Closed Until Further Notice Due to Renovation.**

She noticed that the doorways were boarded up by planks, with signs repeating what she just read in a different manner. **Do No Enter.** But the thoughts of her mother and fellow Amazons made Diana brush off the warnings.

There were lives at stake, after all.

Though it would be better if she found another way in and avoid trouble...

Diana flew into the air, feeling the red stone vibrating more strongly. She noticed a window left slightly ajar and went towards it. She carefully pulled the window open and closed it behind her once she was inside. It was dark, and as if sensing that, the red stone started glowing like a lantern.

She noticed a Man dressed in blue from a distance, light seeming to pour out from his front. When he turned around, Diana could barely make out the tiny black stick in the Man's hand, the true source of the light. It must be a torch of some kind.

Diana put those thoughts aside as she carefully made her way to her desired location, trusting the small stone in her hand to guide her.

Its light started shining to the left, so Diana followed it. Rows upon rows of different creations filled the dark room; armors from the Middle Ages, spears from the Ice Age, even shields from the Vikings. But it felt so...mismatched. There were more signs covering the room, explaining the tale. Apparently, this was just a "temporary home" for any relics or pieces that didn't belong in this room. But to leave all of this laying around? Men were such strange beings...

As the light led her to another room, Diana thought she had taken a portal to Olympus itself. Whereas the previous room had items scattered all over the place with no order, those responsible for tending to the artifacts here made sure that nothing was out of place:

Tapestries of the gods were lined up, with Zeus and Hera in the middle, like the seating arrangements of royalty. There was even a large metallic statue of the Greek God, Hercules. The sign in front of the piece stated that it was found near the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon had a brief image of a man with golden locks swimming among other creatures of the sea as she noticed small carvings resembling a strange looking A.

The image of a burly looking man with golden locks flooded Diana's eyes, and she found the memory revolting. Proud, arrogant, and refusing to listen to reason - or _her_! - the King of Atlantis was not someone Diana would enjoy being in the company of.

Shields of different eras shared different columns, telling different tales. Several more statues, now of marble origin, also decorated the hall. And best of all was the pottery. Several vases showed Athena springing from Zeus' head or even Artemis herself - the goddess, not the Amazon. But the best piece of pottery didn't show either of the goddesses. The details were perfect, even more so when Diana saw what appeared to have been made by-

"Menolippe." Diana felt nostalgia rise in her chest at the object before her. "Good for you. I always said you worked with museum quality."

A sculptor back on the island, Menolippe was a woman who knew the Queen for a long time. She instructed the younger Amazons in the art of pottery. They all excelled in their work, but none could hold a candle to their mentor. She was the first person who instilled a sense of curiosity about Man's World in a manner unlike the rest of the island.

She even dared to create sculptures detailing Men, something that would have brought upon scorn were it not for her reputation and ties to Diana's mother. And it seems that her hard work finally paid off, even after her death. The handles on the pot were thin, but not delicate looking like the other pots in the room.

She didn't know how, but Menolippe had claimed several times that she had sent several of her works to Man's World in the hopes of sharing a small part of their culture. Now she could see the truth before her very eyes.

The story painted on the hardened clay showed a man and a woman, sharing a passionate kiss. The woman looked suspiciously like her...mother! Now excited for more, Diana planted her feet on the ground and looked at the back to see the rest of the story. But for some odd reason, any images made were faded away...or destroyed by some vandal.

The light from the red stone glowed brighter still. Diana shut her eyes to block out the intense light now filling the room. The strangest thing was that it didn't come from the rock in her hand. Opening her eyes just a fraction, Diana saw a red glow in the distance. A strange humming sound could be heard, almost like it was a song of some sort. It was...strangely sad. Like the funeral horns that rang every so often back at Themyscira.

It all began to click now. Diana walked towards the source of the light, in the form of a pale-peach vase with etchings of Hercules on it. The stone in her hand seemed to be humming as well now, glowing more and more red by the minute. As Diana reached into the vase, she felt her hand touch something rough and slim. As she pulled it out, Diana saw that it was just like the other relic that Faust showed her, now safely in the confines of the Javelin.

She felt the black surface of the level piece and felt jagged lines on one end of the item, almost similar to the other part. Two parts of the same whole...

A flash of light filled the room, briefly blinding the Amazon. When she opened her eyes, she looked all over herself to see if anything was different. No scorch marks, no bruising, no stiff limbs...

A low rumbling filled the room, prompting Diana to turn around and discover the source. Before her very eyes, the statue of Hercules moaned with each strain, each limb creaking with each movement. It's eyes glowed yellow and stared right at the Amazon with great interest. It was only a few moments before it noticed the black lever in her hand and started charging...

Then the sound of ringing filled the air, with shouts from a distance adding to the confusion. Their words were jumbled, but Diana recognized the tone used being the same one that were used by the guards back on Themyscira. The tone that was used for intruders...

Hera, help her.

* * *

"Superman to Batman, we are entering Gotham City now. Do you copy?"

"I do, Superman. I'm currently in the East End and closing in on your location. ETA is ten minutes, fifteen if there's traffic. According to the radar, the Javelin is just outside of the Art Museum at the North End."

"Isn't that the one that's being renovated?"

"I'm afraid so." Batman responded grimly. "There's more. Apparently, there's was a report to the police about someone breaking in. The guards that fled the premises all mentioned something about a 'statue coming to life' and how a 'swimsuit model' starting fighting the statue in question."

"..."

"Yes, I know we need to discuss Diana's choice in armor later..."

* * *

Diana stared at the statue in shock as it began charging towards her. When it came ten feet towards the Amazon, she came to her senses and dived out of the statue's way. The statue stopped right before it crashed into the wall and turned to face Diana once more, who was now getting into a battle stance. It slowly raised one hand and pointed it's large, stone finger at her. Diana looked back in confusion until the finger pointed lower. She was not amused by this and covered her breastplate indignantly.

"You dare to gaze upon me like a trophy?!" Diana roared. The statue pointed even lower this time with an air of impatience. The Amazon followed where the finger was pointing and realized that it was directed towards the relic now in her possession.

"Never!" Diana replied defiantly as she wrapped her hands around her only hope tightly.

It began moving at a speed unusual for a statue to have. Before Diana could react, she felt cold stone strike hard against her face, sending her into the air. As she picked herself off of the floor, she saw the room begin spinning around her. The floor seemed to be leaning to the left, yet nothing was moving out of place. Vibrations bounced all around the room as Diana collapsed to the ground. She briefly saw a stone toe before she felt her body flying across the room again. The familiar grip in her left hand slipped away as the relic started soaring across the room.

Diana picked herself up and threw her lasso as fast as she could in hopes of catching the cylinder before it reached the ground. She felt a hard tug sweep her off her feet and saw the golden rope trapped inside of one of the statue's hands. In its other hand was the relic before stone fingers closed around it possessively. The statue pulled its end of the lasso hard, but Diana tugged back with greater force. She succeeded in freeing her lasso and dived out of the way as a large foot attempted to crush her in the statue's attempts to prevent a fall.

nored this and flew into the air. She threw a fist across the statue's cheek, a wave of pain washing over it briefly. The Amazon held her injured hand as she stared in surprise at seeing no sign of damage to the stone. A strange rattling sound echoed out of the statue's mouth, with an empty feeling within the noise. And yet it sounded...merry?

Was a statue..._laughing_ at her?!

A stone hand began coming towards Diana, who was ready this time. She ducked out of the way and threw another punch, hitting the nose this time. At first, it appeared as though the attack were in vain, until cracks started to form in the center before becoming larger and larger. Stone began falling off in small dust particles, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the guardian's face. The strange echo ceased as the statue appeared to glare at her without its nose. Its left hand tightened the grip it held around the artifact, as if it were a slippery eel.

_I must get the relic back!_ Diana thought. She threw her lasso around the giant left wrist of the statue.

_I am Princess Diana, and I will _not_ be denied!_

Tugging with all of her might, the Amazon was able to pull the statue towards her. Her opponent attempted to grab the lasso with it's free hand when a _twang!_ sound bounced off of the stone. It looked down at the piece of metal sticking out of its wrist. It was thin, black, and shaped almost like a bird...

It was so focused on the weapon inside of it that the statue failed to see Diana's fist enter one of its eyes, and then the other one before it could react. It felt one of its hands being pried open like a clam before smooth skin brushed against the stone in the process of grabbing something. Now without vision, the statue swung its arms around blindly trying to swat down the Amazon.

A thin black cable wound itself around one of the wrists, and began tugging at it. Diana's eyes followed where the line began and saw a small boy dressed in a mixture of black, red and green. Diana did not register her cry alarm until she realized the statue felt around for the cable with its free hand and pulled it.

The boy yelped with surprise as he found himself dangling in the air before he vanished as a red blur flew by him.

The red blur dashed around its legs before it started going through them, almost like a pack of termite on wood. The statue roared as it started falling to the ground, more and more of its body turning into rubble, leaving only the head intact on top of a pile of rock.

"How're we supposed to explain this to the authorities?" A young voice asked from behind Diana. She turned around and groaned.

"Great Hera! What are you doing here, Robin!?" She glared at the young boy standing before her. Robin frowned at the rubble in front of them, ignoring the hostile stare aimed at him. That fool of a Man!

"You know," Robin replied with a tone that Diana recognized coming from Batman. "I was just about to ask you the same question. I don't how it works back at your home, but what you're doing would be considered breaking and entering..."

He glanced at the destruction before him before adding:

"And vandalism."

"What if we just told the police the truth?" A red blur zoomed right beside Robin and looked down at the boy, "You know, about the rubble?"

"You're right, Flash! What was I thinking?" Robin gave a pensive look before turning to face Flash. "How's this sound? 'Excuse me, but we just destroyed a statue just now. Why? Well, it just happened to come to life and tried killing Wonder Woman and we thought she was in danger and destroyed it in self defence.' That sounds good enough...oh wait, it doesn't!" At the end of this, Robin glared at the Speedster.

"Well 'scuse me for trying to help," Flash sighed. His look of disappointment turned into annoyance. "Hey, wait a minute! I only destroyed it because _you_ attacked it!"

Robin had the decency to blush.

The Speedster's face softened at this as he crouched down to eye level with the boy. "Don't worry 'bout it. If anyone asks, it was my fault."

"WHAT IN RAO'S NAME HAPPENED HERE!?"

Diana turned in the direction of the noise and saw Superman flying in with J'onn close by. The Man of Steel looked like he was prepared to break something should someone not answer him.

Where did _this_ Man come from? The Superman Diana was familiar with would never show this kind of fury. Robin seemed to agree with her silent assessment as she heard the boy silently swear under his breath.

"Rahat!"

Should they all come out of this unscathed, Diana would make a note to have a word with the boy for using such coarse language...

* * *

"Please don't be mad at him, Superman." Diana pleaded later in the police station. She was forced to sit down in a small room with only one source of light directly above her, forced to have strange shackles strapped to her wrists. The aftermath of the battle was not a pleasant one. Not only did she end up being confronted by Superman and eventually Batman, but the Princess found herself surrounded by a large group of Men and even some Women dressed in similar blue attire pointing guns at her.

She ended up taking the blame for the fiasco and was then arrested for destruction of public property, breaking and entering, and theft when she started to tell Superman why she came to the museum in the first place. And now, Diana was trying to explain to the Man of Steel why Flash should not receive retribution for his actions as well in the destruction of the statue.

"He damaged museum property."

"He _saved_ my _life_-"

"Saved your life, but _demolished_ a good portion of our museum as a result!" Diana ignored the red-faced Man dressed in what she believed to be sleeping attire, if the blue and white striped clothing were an indication. His demeanor and words clearly indicated that he was someone of a high position. "Those artifacts were _priceless_! Some of them were even generously donated to us from Atlantis itself by its Queen. FROM. ATLANTIS!"

Another Man dressed in a long, brown cloak held his hand up to the red-faced one. "I understand your anger, but you must remain silent if you want to remain in this room."

Diana found herself respecting this Man for his calm demeanour throughout this humiliating process she was forced to endure. Aside from ordering his troops to not shoot her, this Gordon person did not raise his voice once.

Gordon turned to Diana and pinched the bridge of his nose. "And Miss...Wonder Woman, while your loyalty towards the Flash is touching, it doesn't help him at all. The moment Flash started to attack the statue itself, he became liable for prosecution. But I would have to question whether or not he even _deserves_ that kind of treatment due to the circumstances surrounding it."

The other Man would hear none of it. "You're telling me that you're not going to press charges against that other vandal!? I don't care what you think of him, but he is a vigilante! He's automatically breaking the law just by wearing that ridiculous outfit! He-"

"He was dealing with what can only be described as an object controlled by _magic_. _The Flash _is a recognized officer of the Central PD, and therefore _not_ breaking the law as a result." Gordon emphasized the last word calmly. "And may I remind you, Mr. Grey, that you were warned about having any more outbursts. Now, I'm going to have to kindly ask you to leave while I handle this."

Mr. Grey bit his lip, but nodded and proceeded to walk out of the room, taking deep breaths while doing so.

Diana waited until Gordon returned his gaze to her before speaking. "I understand now that what I did was unlawful. But this must wait until-"

"Diana, you should have told us about this Faust character beforehand, hopefully before the break-in even happened." Superman interjected. "Batman and Robin are looking into it right now. But you're still going to have to stay here until you get bail."

"How much am I to pay?"

"Somewhere in the millions in U.S. money." Gordon responded grimly. "I doubt you have that kind of cash on hand."

"Great Hera. _That_ much!?"

"Not quite." A new voice piped in.

Diana turned to the door and saw a young woman standing there. Her form was slender, but tall. Her long, black, curly hair went well with the black top hat adorning her face. The skin was almost the same shade as her own olive skin, but a bit lighter. The eyes were a brown so light, they were almost golden. Her outfit consisted of a blue jacket with a white blouse underneath it with dark leggings and shiny shoes.

Whoever this woman was, Gordon was just as surprised to see her too. "Miss Zatanna? _You're_ offering to pay around ten million for the bail of Wonder Woman? Unless I'm mistaken, an illusionist like yourself wouldn't have that kind of cash without stealing."

"I'm well aware of that..." Zatanna muttered bitterly.

"I never doubted your innocence for a second-"

"Sorry, this isn't about me. Just can't forget something like that happening..." Zatanna brushed off the apology gently.

Gordon continued patiently. "As I was saying, are you offering to pay Wonder Woman's bail?"

"No." Zatanna replied. "Batman contacted Mr. Wayne, who agreed to pay for the damages himself. _I'm_ here to let you know that the money will be transferred tomorrow."

"Does this mean I can leave?" Diana asked impatiently.

"No." Superman shook his head. "You'll still have to spend the night here until the money's transferred. And then there's your trial, if it comes to that."

"What if I offered to repair the damages done onto the museum for free?" Zatanna offered. "In exchange for no trial?"

Gordon stared at the woman for a few moments, as if he were trying to gage her level of sanity like Diana was doing at the moment. He looked at Superman for help, who proceeded to nod in approval of the idea before sighing.

"What you're saying is, if you manage to restore the museum to its original form, there's going to be no need for a trial if there's nothing damaged? With the amount of money that would be needed to repair the damages in the first place?" Gordon summarized.

"You could say all your problems with be gone _like magic_." Zatanna smiled.

Gordon looked at her once more before placing his hand over his face. "I need a drink after this..."

* * *

Faust inhaled through his nostrils , taking in the salty sea air for a moment, before placing his arms out in front of him. He began to mutter strange words that held no comprehension to anyone else that might be listening. His hands started to grow warmer and warmer before becoming engulfed by flames. Yet Faust ignored this, as he felt no agony from this.

His tongue moved fluently, words gushing out still like water overflowing a dam. As he finished proclaiming the last of the incantation, Faust slammed both his hand to the ground, the fire fleeing his hands and slowly crawling and growing larger. The flames stopped crawling and rose higher until it was at level with the sorcerer's height himself.

And then, _he_ spoke.

"**Why does thou not traverse the lands for the remaining keys**?"

Faust bowed humbly before the trembling voice. "Forgive me, my Lord. But I have discovered someone else to do my task for me."

"**Time is of thy essence, pathetic mortal, thou cannot show sloth or thy deal with thee shall be nullified**!"

"No, my Lord!" Faust shouted in alarm before regaining his composure. "You shall have no worries to concern yourself with. The relics _will_ be brought together before long."

"**And what makes thou so certain**?"

Faust allowed a grin to adorn his face. "Let's say, just as a mother's love is a terrible thing, a daughter's devotion can be even more horrifying."

"**...does thou speak of thy past beloved**?"

"Yes, my Lord. I _do._" Faust raised one hand and gestured with his index finger. As he did so, a large orb of energy floated swiftly towards him, carrying an unconscious form inside. Faust felt himself pitying the poor woman; for one that was once considered the Harpie of the Amazons, age had clearly made Queen Hippolyta a shell of her former self.

For the first time in the conversation, the echo in the fire held a sense of satisfaction within.

"**It is a pleasing sight to see what shall be awaiting thee once I am freed from this wretched prison**. **But, pray tell, why has thou sealed Hippolyta within the Sphere of Submissiveness**?"

The grin on Faust's face grew held a hint of darkness within it. "My travels in the pursuit of knowledge have brought me to one who taught me that nothing is more encouraging than live bait."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I think I'm finally back on track to where I left off before the reboot. A few things had to be readjusted to suit the flow of the story, the statue was also supposed to talk but I thought that was a bit much. Not to mention, I couldn't figure out how the divergence point would affect the enchantments in the first place.

So a few things have happened differently than from canon:

Diana didn't automatically tell Batman about Faust because she was more distressed than she was in the episode.

The remaining members of the League had to deal with getting out of the Watchtower and then going after Diana since Batman found from his conversation with her to be less than encouraging.

Diana ended up getting arrested for property damage because Superman and the others weren't as understanding at first due to the circumstances beforehand instead of practically getting away with it scot free. Luckily, Batman is able to pay for her bail but it won't come through until tomorrow.

We are also introduced to Zatanna much earlier than usual, with her offer to repair the museum herself in exchange for all charges to be dropped, much to a doubting Commissioner Gordon's belief.

Faust even mentions meeting someone in his travels that suggested using methods more sadistic than in canon. Who is he referring to?

I'm also sorry for the absence, this chapter was really hard to edit and work on. There was dealing with having dialogue and narration that would make the characters tolerable and not idiotic, not to mention adding in the changes to the original episode as well.

The beginning was actually the hardest for me to write, since it was crucial for easing in the other plot points.

On another note, before I forget, **Jackalope89**, thank you for your reviews and observations. I also wanted to correct you on one thing: Superman and Robin _do_ have a pre-existing relationship before the Justice League cartoon, just not _this_ Robin. It was Tim Drake that got to know Superman a bit before in the original canon. At this point in this AU, I'd say he is younger than Dick, due to the divergence point.

Thank you for bothering to read this update from an apparently lazy writer.

Happy September!


	15. Intermission

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong To DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League Cartoon.**

* * *

**Intermission**

_"Riaper"_

Rubble shuddered, vibrating against the earth. She felt pressure close in around her body, like a balloon losing helium. As the debris started floating, Zatanna allowed a smile to creep onto her face. Reconstructing ruins was like building fire underwater, taking a far leap from physics. In order for her spells to work, Zatanna had to use the energy around her and within her. In order to make fire, she'd need to channel the right amount of oxygen into one area without bringing the risk of asphyxia. For water, she'd need to imagine the moisture and oxygen being drawn together like a pin to a magnet. So it would be understandable for people to confuse it with alchemy, both based off of similar principles.

"_Basic magic follows the same rule book that the Conservation of Mass follows, unfortunately._" Zatanna could almost hear her mentor in the same room as her. "_Most sorcerers and warlocks you'll see will claim to be capable of controlling the heavens and earth beneath them, but they'll be bluffing. God, help them. Most of these fools will barely know the basics, so they'll end up relying on smoke and mirrors for the majority of their spells. You, Zatanna, are at their level at the moment. You, until recently, _were_ one of them. You, like your father before you, grew up fascinated with the realm of the unknown. Until recently, you barely even touched the surface of what it means to be a mage, but you can be more. All it takes is practice-_"

"-and effort." Zatanna said out loud with a smile. So much effort indeed.

But at least magic didn't require an arm and a leg to use. Then again, that fell into the category of reanimating the dead...

Repairing something broken required more force of will than force of nature to work. It also required good memory as well, since the spell channels energy plus imagery. At least that was what Zatanna would be dealing with until she mastered the basics. Constantine had told her that it wasn't impossible, but that it would take years before she was ready to attempt something that advanced without straining herself to the point of exhaustion. It required more stamina than when using basic magic. But tapping into a recent magic stream on the other hand would have more productive results. It was like taking a gulp of fresh air after hours spent in a musty room. Or euphoria. Or both.

Thank goodness for flawed magic security. This place was practically leaking of magic pollution, perfect for any member of the Ethernet to make use of, beginner or master mage.

_"R__iaper!" _Zatanna repeated again, her voice echoing in the empty hall. More rubble began floating in the air, pressing against one another like puzzle pieces before the cracks between them filled up. Her shoulders sagged, pressure pushing down on her. But Zatanna stood strong. She needed to get this done. She took a look around the room, pleased with the process she was making. She turned her head back to the screen in front of her, courtesy of the security footage from the previous night. There were also multiple photos showing different artifacts on display at different angles. The statue was the biggest concern and as long as nobody else saw what she was doing-

"You sure you don't need a hand?"

Zatanna turned around for a moment, taking in the towering figure before her. She suppressed a sigh, not wanting to hurt Superman. There wasn't much for him to do in this scenario and what little that _could_ be done was to give her some space. To give everyone some space.

"I'm fine, but thank you." Zatanna replied curtly.

"Is everything alright?" God, she could hear the worry in his voice. Was it that hard for him to not intrude on _everyone's_ business?

She twisted her wrists, levitating more rubble from the ground. It was already starting to feel heavier now, she had to make use of the magical residue before it disappeared.

"Miss Zatanna." Superman began. Zatanna ignored him. She needed to work.

"_Riaper__!__"_ She chanted again. The floating rocks compacted together and formed a stone hand. She wished Constantine was here with her right now. His snark made for better company right now.

"Zata-"

"I don't need your help and I would appreciate it if you would kindly leave." She covered her mouth, regretting the words that escaped her lips. This was John's friend, she needed to be patient with him despite her opinions of him.

As if that was really Batman's real name.

John Smith. How could she have been that oblivious at the time? True, she was younger at the time and was still learning the art of deception from her father, but still! John Smith was a name too generic to use. You'd expect the World's Greatest Detective to come up with a better, more original name that that! Was she able to figure out who his true identity was? Probably. But it wasn't worth the effort. Zatanna had faith that when the time came, Batman would tell her what his real name was.

Superman was just..._too_ helpful! This was a one mage's job. There was nothing he could do, but if the stories were true, then it would take more than a few words to convince a man seeking redemption that he wasn't needed. Sometimes, you just had to stand back and let the world rotate on its axis.

She just needed to have patience. Just like she needed to have patience with the man who was about to make contact with the floating rocks she was currently levitating with her - wait, what!?

"_Ezeerf_."Zatanna chanted, cursing herself for getting sidetracked. Superman's body ceased movement, his hand still outstretched towards the floating rubble. Huh, she didn't really expect that spell to work. Immobilizing someone required great willpower, forcing the target to comply with the command. Zatanna expected someone like Superman to demonstrate a challenge, given his background. Perhaps it had to do with his shortcomings in regard to magic.

Superman's eyes still moved, widening with shock.

"Sorry, Big Guy." Zatanna sighed. "If anyone were to make contact with anything in this room right now, the flow of magic would run dry. Especially with your biology._ Ezeerfnu!"_

He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The look Superman was giving her right now made Zatanna suspect that Batman was giving the Man of Steel some lessons in intimidation. And was failing poorly at them too, apparently.

"Drama queen." Zatanna rolled her eyes.

* * *

_Crack!_

She gasped, twisting her head in every direction looking for the source, her sword unsheathed. Pressure underneath her foot made her lift up her sandal to reveal a broken twig. Artemis looked back at her and glared.

"Watch your step!" She hissed quietly.

"Sorry." Donna whispered quietly.

She looked back to face Alexa, who looked as though she was on the verge of collapsing in fright.

This was not a good idea. They should have stayed in the cave.

But Artemis argued that they would not be in a position to attack properly and insisted that they take down the intruder through stealth. And besides, she added, she wasn't going to leave them alone with danger looming over them like a shadow. That was what convinced Donna and Alexa to listen to her. Her unspoken fear and worry.

If only the Muses could see what fools they looked like at the moment. Thalia and Melpomene could be debating among themselves whether or not this was ridiculous or suicidal at this very moment.

Donna didn't know what the three of them could accomplish on their own. Artemis was the fiercest warrior on Themyscira, next to Diana, of course. But what was she compared to a Man who was able to transfigure all of the denizens of the island into alabaster figures?

And then there was herself, an Amazon that didn't enjoy fighting at all. She might as well be Alexa for all the good that will bring. Poor Alexa, scared out of her wits at the danger, still chanting her favorite quote like it were a prayer.

"As a rock against the seashore, he standeth firm..."

But ever since Diana...left...Artemis 'decided' that Alexa was not deemed worthy to be Donna's guard any further and took the young girl under her wing. For the past eight months, Donna never felt the weight of a book in her hands and knew only the cold touch of steel in her grasp.

Whenever she and Artemis exchanged blows during training, it would always end the same exact way with Donna falling to the ground first. But the older Amazon still insisted that the princess learn how to fight. But the stances never burned in her mind, her muscles stiff and unwilling. Donna kept on expecting Artemis to succumb to anger and deem her a failure, and yet she seemed all the more determined to teach her.

Did Alexa ever see this side of Artemis?

In times of trouble, Donna had always gone to her sister or mother for support. But like her training with Artemis, new things had washed over the island like a tidal wave on a sandy beach.

Her mother had become...colder and isolated herself in the temple of Athena more and more. What little time she had between her lessons, Donna found herself kneeling beside her mother in prayer, begging for the return of the lost princess, her sister, her rock. Neither spoke a word to one another since...that night.

There was talk among the others as well. The word, 'Diana', would be treated with contempt, disgust, like a slur, viewed as a traitor. Never had the warriors of Themyscira been so united under Artemis' example.

Alexa had continued to read through her books as if nothing had occurred, though Donna once saw her under the shade of a tree recently. She was gazing into one of her plays before her face contorted and crumbled, her hands covering her face with the book on the ground forgotten. Several moments passed as Alexa sobbed hysterically before wiping her face and picking up the book once more, as if her lapse in composure never occurred.

The night was waning, the first hints of sun were pouring through the darkness. No one had felt like sleeping and each coped in their own way. Alexa had her quiet chanting, much to Artemis' chagrin. Artemis was even more on edge than usual, insisting that her orders be followed to the letter. Multiple branches had now been transformed into spears wherever Artemis went. And Donna simply thought to herself. She imagined different outcomes to what might have happened that last night her sister was home. Sometimes, she went with Diana in the dead of night, other times she was met with resistance often in the form of Artemis.

There were times where she thought of what might have happened if Diana had changed her mind or was discovered by one of the guards. Those were the most difficult to imagine as Donna struggled to picture each reaction accordingly. There were other times where she barely even thought about what might have been and simply saw. Sometimes, she saw fire surrounding her sister and the shrill cries of a child. Other instances made her nostrils cringe as she stood face to face with the foulest creatures that could ever come from Tartarus.

And then there were thoughts that came to her in dreams. Ones that Donna could swear to Athena that they were reminiscent to the epics of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. There were these strange boxes that moved on wheels not made of wood. There was her sister punching a monster made of whites and into submission alongside a winged creature, an angel perhaps.

She made no mention of these visions to anyone. Athena only knew what her fate would be as a result. She refused to become like those crones who wallowed in filth, trapped by their gift.

"Perhaps we should make camp for the night?" Alexa muttered meekly from behind.

"If you wish to rest, then rest, Alexa." Artemis responded coldly. "But we will not wait up for you."

"Yes, Artemis." Alexa answered back quietly.

Artemis-" Donna began.

"It is alright, little one. I will be fine after a moment's rest. Do not let me hold you." The way Alexa said that rang false to Donna's ears. Too cheerful.

She stood there, her sword at her side. Donna couldn't leave her fellow Amazon behind, could she? If the intruder were to appear, would Alexa be able to handle it?

"Donna. Go." Alexa gave a weary grin, rubbing her eyes as she did. "Artemis needs you."

"We need you too!" Donna threw back. She winced when Artemis shushed her. "You give yourself little credit."

"Alexa is not being modest, Donna." Artemis furrowed her eyes. "She does not possess the will of an Amazon. She refuses to fight like one and she refuses to die like one either."

What history did she have with Alexa, Donna wondered, for such contempt to be held towards the poor woman?

"Go!" Alexa urged. "Themyscria depends on it."

Donna felt a hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Artemis' face grow soft.

"You must have courage, little one." Artemis spoke softly. "Hippolyta-"

She caught herself at this and spoke again.

"Your mother believed that a single person can make a difference in the field of battle."

"I am no fighter!" Donna protested. "I am as much a warrior as Alexa is."

"We shall see." Artemis turned back, pulling out her short-sword before turning around.

Feeling trapped, Donna pressed onward, taking one last look at Alexa, who had now seated herself upon a small boulder.

May the gods of Olympus have mercy on them all.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update. This isn't as long as I had hoped and I will be honest with you; I doubt that I will be consistent with updating like I was when I first started off. This chapter was just so hard to write because I am beginning to veer a bit away from canon little by little and want to be as original as I can. My biggest concerns are the relationships between the characters.

First POV of Donna that we've had so far. This was supposed to be just a single scene with Zatanna and possibly Diana, but I still have a ways to go before I can go for longer scenes.

In regards to the reviews: Robin helping because he's a kid...XD, unless there's a canoe that lets him and someone else go through the river, Styx, without being affected by magic that would typically focus on adults, I guess we'll find out just how helpful he'll be in this arc.

Also glad that our Boy Wonder is doing fine with characterization, thanks **Jackalope89**! As for potential foreshadowing between him and Donna, the most that I can say is that I have plans for those two in the future.

Happy New Year!


	16. Chapter 14: Investigation

**Author's Note: **I'm alive. And with a real chapter this time. Thank you, **Jackalope89**, for your hilarious commentary on the previous chapter. I'll do better next time.

* * *

**Disclaimer: All rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League cartoon.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Investigation**

He saw the knife flash in the dim lighting and leapt backwards, cartwheeling until he neared the wall. When the thug charged towards him, Robin ducked underneath the outreaching hand and punched his opponent's midsection. Hearing the thug groan seconds afterwards was very satisfying to Robin.

This was starting to become annoying, though. Weren't they supposed to be looking for information about that Faust guy Diana mentioned? Batman said that they were following a lead, but it just started to feel like a regular patrol instead of an urgent mission now.

First, Robin checked the archives of the Bat-Computer while Batman made some calls upstairs. That bail for Diana wasn't going to pay itself, and there weren't that many people who were eager to jump out of bed just to make a hefty transfer. And then there was the fact that they had to keep out the fact that Wonder Woman was the one that needed bail in the first place.

"Why is Diana staying in jail in the first place?" Robin asked Alfred earlier. "She can just break out without even trying."

The English butler placed his tea tray down before speaking. "I must confess that I do not know the exact circumstances in which Wonder Woman has acted. But I do know that Master Bruce mentioned that her family was in danger. Just as a father's love can be a terrible thing, the love of a daughter can become deadly in the wrong hands."

"Clear as mud." Robin said, testing out the phrase Barbara had used a week prior.

Alfred took that into consideration before speaking again. "Imagine if Miss Gordon were to be abducted by the Joker and the only way to ensure that no harm is to come to her is by doing what the madman says. Would you do it?"

"Of course! Babs is my friend!"

"What if the Joker were to ask you to commit murder? Would you still comply?"

Robin had felt his face grow hot at this. It went against everything Batman had instilled in him…but Barbara…he didn't know what would hurt more. Losing his best friend or losing whatever trust his mentor still had for him.

"What would you do if another option were offered to you?" Alfred offered up softly, probably sensing that Robin was at a loss for words.

Robin paused. "I guess if it's a good option, I'd take the chance. If it's possible, I mean."

"Then perhaps Wonder Woman believes that she has a better chance by complying with the police in the meantime." Alfred suggested. "Let's just hope that Master Bruce will be able to pull through will his old friend after all these years."

"Old friend?"

"Someone that Master Bruce has had the privilege of meeting in his youth. She was at your school two weeks ago, after all."

Realization dawned on him like a lightbulb.

"He's friends with that illusionist?!"

"Sorceress in the making, I believe."

"What's she going to do?"

"She's going to repair the mess Diana made in the museum and help us with getting intel on Faust." Batman's voice came out of nowhere. Robin tried suppressing a flinch, he could never sense him coming.

"Isn't that what the Bat-Computer's for?"

"No. Faust isn't going to show up, this is the first we've heard of him."

"So, what am I supposed to be looking for instead!?" Robin crossed his arms. His glare faltered a little when Batman looked at him. To his surprise, he doesn't see squinted eyes expressing disappointment.

Now it was getting confusing. First, Batman grills Diana on why she broke into the museum and destroyed a good portion of the building. _Then_ he grills Robin briefly for his side of the story, in which he begrudgingly admitted that he tried intervening, forcing Flash to finish off the statue himself. He half-expected another "Bat-lecture" – which he actually _did_ deserve this time, since the whole mess was his fault – and then the Boss just tells him to activate the Bat-Computer and input a code: **BF1-97-4**.

Batman spoke. "Supernatural incidents. The cases I can't solve."

"Ah, yes." Alfred nodded. "The instances where the wizard actually _did_ do it."

"And what's that going to accomplish?" Robin asked.

"There are some cults that go beyond the belief in magic. If Faust isn't on Zatanna's radar, then he must belong to one of those groups. Zatanna already sent us a list of all potential cults within the Gotham area."

"What makes you think this Faust guy was from Gotham?"

"The information Diana told Superman matches several of the cults in question. They tend to use a mixture of chants and artifacts for their magic."

And thus, began the wild goose chase in question.

And that was one chase that Robin would never want to bring up to anyone at pain of death.

Robin pulled himself back into the present just in time to cartwheel out of another thug's range. Several yards away, he saw Batman engaged with three bulky-looking figures, throwing punches and jabs in several places at once. The sound of feet trampling over concrete broke Robin from his observation, instinctively reaching for his utility belt for the right tool to use.

'_Too slow_!' Robin cursed himself as a fist barely grazed his shoulder, spinning him off axis. He dug into the individual pouches of his belt until he felt something round and thin. Pulling it out, Robin threw the birdarang at the ashen-skinned man who punched him, the disc releasing two thin blades on each side, balancing the weapon even further. The result wasn't what Robin was hoping for, unconsciously taking a few steps backwards as he watched his opponent scream in pain, blood gushing from where his left ear would be.

For a moment, Robin halted in his tracks before his opponent removed his bloody hand to reveal his ear still intact.

"Focus, Robin!" Batman barked at him. Robin responded by punching the thug square in the face. He silently hoped that the bleeding would stop soon for the man.

Robin barely had time to react again as another man garbed in black pulled out a pistol and pointed it at him. He froze, uncertain on how to act. Digging into his utility belt again, Robin tried to find another birdarang before he noticed that his opponent was on the ground, collapsed. Standing over the fallen opponent was Batman.

"How many are left?" Robin asked.

"None." Batman muttered.

"Good." Robin sighed in relief. He was about to slump to the ground when he felt a strong arm pull him back up again.

"We need to find the leader."

Rahat! These scenarios always had a loose end to tie up, if Robin was correct in his way of thinking, then that would mean that the leader that they needed to find would make themselves known in a dramatic fashion-

_Click!_

Called it.

Robin then felt himself being placed behind Batman almost protectively. His body froze; where is this behavior coming from?

"Do you really want to try it?" Batman growled in the darkness.

An old man stepped out with two more flanking him. From the looks of it, he probably really did want to "try it" as Batman described it. The old-ish looking man might be at least 15 years older than Green Lantern, who had shown signs of hair growing gray in his buzzcut.

He was flanked by two men; the one on his right was bald and looked like he was in his late 20's to early 30's while the one on the left looked young, maybe in his late teens. His hair shone in the dim lighting and formed a ridiculous hairdo. But Robin still shuddered. The look on the teen's face gave off an aura of…cold?...it felt so…familiar. The image of an older man showing the beginning signs of wrinkles materializes in Robin's mind and he's now doing everything in his willpower not to throttle the teen for making him think of…_him_.

If those two were related….

The teen looked in his direction and sneered. However, Robin squinted in the dark and bit down on his tongue to prevent laughter. Did that guy just eat a lemon whole before coming here? The Joker could do better than that without trying!

Batman held up a batarang, poised to throw despite the three guns pointed in his direction. His other hand, Robin noticed, was tucked behind his back and clenched up in a fist. Either he was calling the Batmobile for a dramatic entrance or there was a smoke bomb that would be dropped in a moment's notice in case this was the kind of scene where the bad guys are unreasonable…

"Tell your men to lower their weapons. I only came for information. There isn't any need for violence." Batman stood firm, his back facing Robin as he stared down the two gunmen and their leader with an air of cool control.

"You come here without provocation," the older man growled. As he continued speaking, his voice grew louder with each accusation until he was outright screaming. "You attack my men. Your brat sliced up Caleb's ear! My pub is wrecked! I beg to differ, you're being violent right now!"

Robin poked his head from behind Batman. "In our defense, they attacked first."

He ducked back behind Batman just in time to hear what he swore sounded like a thunderclap explode in his ears. It took a few moments for him to realize that he was hearing his own heart pounding against his chest. Most people should be frozen at the sound of a gunshot, right?

"Watch it!" Batman growled. Robin didn't know who he was saying it to. Was it directed at him for opening his mouth at the worst possible moment? Or was it a warning to the one who shot at him in the first place?

"Perry!" The older man snapped at the teen.

"Uncle, we don't have time for this. Let's just off 'em and be done already!"

"You gotta be better than this, Perry!"

Huh. A scary old man who turned out to be a bit reasonable when it came to calling out family members and pointing out hypocrisy and a hot-tempered teen who may or may not have daddy issues to attend to. For a quick moment, Robin dreaded that there were more similarities to…_him_…that the teen shared with. He'd prefer it if the teen were to suddenly start shooting fireballs right now and bring some sense into all of this.

"Tell the kid if he shoots again, Francesco, that he'd better have a quick exit planned." Robin sighed. So, Batman was _worried _for him. Uncle Clark might be right this time. This was starting to be more common now. Batman was shifting between his usual self and then starting to show something remotely close to being human. Where was this coming from!? "I'd prefer if he were to leave. Now."

The teen, Perry, took a few steps back at this, his face melting with panic for a moment before slipping back into that swallowed-a-lemon expression that he thought could pass for a sneer. Like that was fooling anyone.

"And what if I say no?" Francesco asked.

"If I'm assuming correctly – and I am – you just saw a grown man and a small child take down at least fifteen of your men within the span of five minutes with minimal injuries. All of them were armed. We took no prisoners and by the looks of the last man that Robin was dealing with, you'll need to send some of your people to the emergency room for good measure.

"What's more; outside of this building is a SWAT team, at least a dozen snipers ready to take you down in a heartbeat, and since I have no control over these outside forces, your best option is to simply answer a few simple questions if you aren't dumb enough to not think this through. And believe me; my way will be far. Less. Painful."

Francesco stood there frozen. He finally asked. "You threatening to kill me?"

"I never kill." Batman said. "But the men outside aren't like me. They aren't going to listen to a man in a bat costume. The only reason they aren't in this room right now, ready to take down your drug operation and potential ties to Western terrorists is because they aren't here yet. I _might_ be able to prevent this from happening, but only if you give me the information I need."

"You still killing by inaction!" The teen, Perry, roared. "No matter how you phrase it, you're no better than us."

"Do you want to take that chance with me?" Batman asked.

_He can't be serious!_ Robin thought. _Batman wouldn't let that happen!_

And apparently, Francesco was thinking the same thing, because the next thing he said was,

"You can't fool me, Bat-Freak! Waste 'em!"

"I thought you wanted to be better than this!" Robin said.

Francesco smirked. "Guess I'm inconsistent, then." He snapped his fingers, the guards raised their guns to fire, and-

Froze, when they saw small dots on their foreheads.

"I wasn't exaggerating." Batman said. Robin couldn't see his mentor's face, but he swore that the man was smirking slightly.

Francesco raised his hand and his men lowered their weapons. "What do you want?"

"We're looking for information on a man by the name of Dekan Drache. He used to work for you."

"Drache?" Francesco asked. He looked at Batman as if he were proposing the idea of marriage just now. "Why d'you care? He turned his back on us years ago! Double-crossed up for those whack jobs."

"So, you know where he went." Batman said.

Francesco looked like he was going to deny he ever made the implications, but then there was a sharp intake of breath and then-

"Alright. Drache handled cargo and transport, brought us to the top of the food chain within a few years. He was one of my top men, smart too. Started assisting in museum thefts too, he knew which pieces were the best ones to steal…and then, he met those-those…"

Francesco turned to the man on his right, the buzz-cut one and asked.

"What did those nuts call themselves again, Lewy?"

"The Order of Tartar Sauce, I think." Buzz-Cut said. He scratched his head, his eyes scrunching in concentration. "Or was it Tar-Trust?...er…I don't think I'm saying it right."

"Tartarus?" Batman offered.

Buzz-Cut nodded. "Yeah. That's it. He left for those weirdos and-"

Perry whacked Buzz-Cut over the head. "No, it started with the letter, P, you dunce!"

Batman looked at Perry expectantly.

Perry didn't flinch this time.

"What was it, then?" Batman asked.

Perry looked at Francesco, as if he were silently asking for help.

"Tell me the truth." Batman said.

The teen found his voice and snarled. "It stands for piss off!"

"How do you benefit from this?" A new voice came in. Female.

Batman didn't turn around, but there was a shift in his stance that seemed more…relaxed?

Francesco smirked. "Is the brat that poor a sidekick-"

_Partner!_

"-that you had to pay some stage performer to help out?"

Stage performer? Robin turned around, breaking out into a smile when he saw Uncle Clark floating several feet away. He waved frantically at him, Uncle Clark returned the gesture with a grin. Next to him – on the ground, at least – was the magician that came to his school.

Zatanna.

She was still wearing that velvet blue jacket with the white blouse she wore at the school event. Robin felt his cheeks grow hot when he noticed that she was wearing fishnets, however.

Wait. Did she know who Batman was?

Zatanna caught him looking at her and twirled her finger; _turn around_, the gesture clearly said.

"Is the situation taken care of?" Batman asked.

"Are you asking me if I'm done being a janitor and doing favors for you?" Zatanna glared.

"We still need your help, the situation needed to be taken care of immediately-"

"I know, I know." Zatanna sighed. "Just don't make me do that again!"

"Why don't you show me those legs of yours down here?" Perry's voice started to sound creepy. When Robin turned around, he saw the teen blow a kiss at the woman.

Uncle Clark looked at Perry with disapproval. "We're in a rush. Tell us what you know and we'll be on our way."

"Or what, Supey?" Perry sneered. "You'll spank me?"

"I'll do it in his place!" Zatanna snarled.

Perry's smile grew creepy again. "I could live with that."

Robin turned back to Zatanna, wondering what her reaction would be. Her face looked as red as a tomato, her fists clenched so tightly that they were turning white.

Robin turned to face Perry. "One more chance, Creepazoid! What's the name of the cult?"

"Shut it, kid. The grown-ups are talking." Perry waved his hand at Robin dismissively.

"_Llet eht hturht!_"

Perry's mouth began to move on its own accord. His eyes widened with horror, sound escaping before he clamped it shut. A moment later, Superman was right in front of him. He gently took Perry's arms and slowly moved them away from his lips.

One word came out of his mouth.

"Plouton."

* * *

Faust gazed through the rippling circle hanging in the air, its surface as smooth as glass. He smirked at the pathetic spectacle before him; of the three Amazons left unchecked in the initial attack, only one remained an actual threat. And now they had separated, leaving one to fend for themselves.

And they looked oh so tired after walking _so much_. He smirked. Perhaps he could rectify this.

Digging into his robes, Faust pulled out several marbles glowing like fire. He shook them in his hand for several moments until they turned bright green.

Yes. That color would be most appropriate for the circumstances at hand.

"I was hoping to have gotten my hands on you, little brat, before the princess returned." Faust muttered to himself. How could he have missed such a spot check like that? If the warrior hadn't told him about the little girl and the other two Amazons, Faust probably would have remained clueless to their existence.

"Perhaps this should teach Hippolyta's daughter to give information so freely."

And with that, he tossed the marbles into the circle, soaking into the matter.

* * *

Alexa shuddered. At first, she drew her arms around her waist for warmth before recalling that the sensation wasn't of the cold. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind. It had started becoming more difficult with what little sleep she had.

_As a rock on the seashore, he standeth firm…_

There were no other intruders on the island save for the magic-wielder. She felt like something or someone was watching her, but she couldn't figure out which it was.

_...and the dashing of the waves disturbeth him not…_

Themyscira was protected by its barriers, ensuring no one could get into the island directly. Which means that the disturbance she had just felt was occurring within the barrier itself.

It was strange, like the wind were changing course.

Her ankle found itself tangled in a vine. Alexa pulled it out and started walking again.

There was the feeling of her foot getting caught in roots now. Alexa looked down at her feet, her eyes widening when the vines and roots in the undergrowth slithered across the earth like snakes. She pulled away when they attempted to wind themselves around her body a third time and jabbed at the greenery with her spear.

The greenery spun around the weapon and yanked it out of Alexa's grasp, twisting the spear so that it was pointed at the young woman. Disarmed, Alexa had no other option than to run.

Back in the direction she came? No. There was plant-life there too, and she wouldn't be foolish enough to let this new threat have the advantage. She needed to get as far as she could from the jungle. The beach was the closest route; the vines might dig through the sand with no difficulties, but it was the closest area with no plant-life…

…except for the seaweed. Alexa mentally face-palmed herself. This could be an enchantment affecting all plant-life in the area-

In the area!

Oh dear. What if the seaweed was to attack as well? Was this affecting all greenery

"Artemis!" Alexa cried out. For all she knew, Artemis and Donna could be in Mount Olympus as this very moment and she knew that a warrior shouldn't cry out in panic amid a battle, but she _needed_ her companions.

"Alexa?"

Oh goodness, thank whatever being existed in a higher plane! Donna came tumbling through the thick of the jungle, her shield in front of her. Coming along behind was Artemis hacking at the attacking greenery left and right, no sign of ending her onslaught.

"By the goddess, must Fate itself mock us in our time of reprieve?!" Artemis barked.

"Look out!" Donna cried out, reaching Alexa and pushing her to the ground. Alexa looked up just in time to see the young girl block a large mass of vinery with her shield, recoiling from the impact.

The vines withdrew, taking the shape of a fist. The fist collided with Donna's shield once more, knocking the poor girl off her feet this time. As it withdrew for another strike, Alexa picked up Donna's shield and placed herself in-between Donna and the enchantments.

Her feet dug into the earth, feeling roots attempting to bind her. Alexa gritted her teeth in anticipation for the attack. The force of the blow pushed her back several feet, but Alexa stood firm. Her shield began to show cracks after the third blow, Alexa's arm stinging from the repeated impact.

At this rate, Alexa would be left to cover herself with her own arms. She pulled Donna up and dodged another attack. Alexa looked around her, visualizing ideas for how to deal with the threat.

The shield could only take one or two more attacks that heavy, so it would be pointless to try using it as a weapon.

Going towards the beach was another possibility, despite the potential danger that would be lurking there as well.

Staying in the middle of the greenery would parallel suicide.

The options before them were growing worse by the minute.

Retreating was the best option for the moment…

Wait a moment.

Alexa looked back at Artemis, who had continued to slice through the mass of green like they were heads that belonged to the Hydra of myth. Or past. Sadly, few records had survived detailing the events in which the intruder, Hercules, had apparently slain the deadly beast. Not that the other Amazons would have cared.

The vines were retreating, which Artemis seemed to have taken as a sign that they were winning.

"Is this the best you can offer the mightiest warrior of Themyscira?"

_Not if you keep talking._ Alexa thought. Artemis might have been able to perform what was, in her opinion, a despicable mold – chatting with company like old hens – but the battlefield was her true calling. The life of a Viking would have been more appropriate for Artemis, the idea of dying in battle was considered the ultimate glory. A shame she would have had to deal with the majority of the fighters being male.

But while she smirked, Alexa's eyes saw what Artemis' didn't. The intruder was behind it, no doubt. The vines had begun to stand upright, there were arms, there were legs, a torso, and an undefined head.

Their bodies disconnected from the vines attacked and slowly advanced towards Artemis. She sliced through three at once, gritting her teeth when the detached torsos simply molded back into their lower counterparts.

"At least they don't have weapons." Donna said with a weak grin.

"Don't tempt Fate, Donna!" Artemis scolded.

"I'm afraid it is too late for temptation, Artemis." Alexa observed.

The vine-mannequins started sprouting thorns across their limbs. On the surface, they looked relatively harmless. But Alexa recognized them belonging to toxic plants.

Donna looked like she was going to cry. "Is it Fate or do we possess the luck of Oedipus?!"

"Don't flatter yourself." Artemis muttered dryly. "We simply tempt tragedy by talking."

Donna glared at her.

Artemis blinked. "Humor. Never my strong suit."

_Neither was empathy but you have your moments._ Alexa thought.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was difficult to write. I didn't know how to handle the second part of the action and wanted to include some better scenes. With 6 courses to worry about, I will try to put some time into working on this story. No promises on frequent updates, my assignments will get in the way.


	17. Chapter 15: Body and Mind

**Author's Notes: **Posting another update is satisfying. **Jackalope89** was kind enough to send me a review via PM since I took down the announcement chapter. It wasn't needed anymore and I think it didn't need to be there. Here it is if you're curious about his thoughts:

"And so the Dynamic Duo continue their search for clues, with Robin discovering teenage hormones for the first time in regards to Batman's magical janitor. Er, I mean, friend.

And the remaining Amazons on Themyscira are training to be professional gardeners and landscapers. With, less than satisfactory results.

Probably best to stick with swinging swords around."

Commenting on the response, yeah, Robin is starting to notice some things about Zatanna aside from her job as magical janitor. Not trying to justify his reaction, even though it was unintentionally perverted, but Robin is also 11 years old. Puberty started hitting me around that age too, and it was pretty confusing at the time. As smart as he is, he doesn't understand it despite being aware of it.

Zatanna might have been an odd choice considering her low level in magic. But she was the only one that Batman knew and trusted enough to try dealing with the damage to the museum. In the show, they just left the scene without any consequences and it bugged me that no one bothered bringing it up. That alone should have brought some public commentary about renegade heroes destroying public property.

Because Diana didn't tell anyone about Faust, the League wasn't as understanding. Nor were the police, who actually have working security systems as opposed to the faulty ones in the cartoon. If they left the damage the way it was, public backlash would have occurred and charges would have been pressed. I hope everyone is noticing that things are started to occur a tad more realistically than usual.

The Amazon Trio - Bad name, I know - are currently dealing with a scenario you could only find in DC comics or in a Disney movie...or _Anastasia_. Whichever comes to mind first. Whatever problems people might be having with this story, I'm hoping this next one will start rectifying it a bit. They are trying to stop Faust from doing any more harm to their home and don't know the extent of his powers.

In my mind, his abilities often relied on using magical objects rather than his own power. Constantine's words in Intermission would suggest that Faust is in the category of relying on "smoke and mirrors" for the most part, save for a few spells from his own being. Applying that idea into the story lead to his tossing those marbles into the portal, creating a scene from "When Plants Attack! Part 5"

Or something like that.

Sorry for the long notes, I needed to explain a few things. Hope you enjoy the story!

* * *

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This is a slight AU of the Justice League Cartoon.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Body and Mind**

The creatures had detached themselves from the rest of the terrain, acting on their own as if they were actual enemies. No need for swords or spears from their enemies. Their bodies were the only weapons needed.

She dodged a spiky arm and swung her shield at it. It spliced through the vines for a moment before the makeshift limb began knitting itself back together. She quickly withdrew the shield and jumped backwards. The vines shot out and slammed into her shield, shattering it into pieces. A long branch on the ground found itself in her grasp, now whacking at the animate fauna with a vengeance. Donna looked over to her companions for a moment, almost crying in frustration with their mixed success.

Artemis was currently challenging three animate plants at once, lunging her spear into one and ripping it out just as quickly. In her other hand was her sword, hacking at another swinging its spiky arm at her before it was severed off. If only the others could see such a warrior in combat like this; Donna wasn't seeing a difficult and aggressive woman that lived on Themyscira, but a warrior who once held the title as strongest of the Amazons. What she lacked in the grace that Diana would have shown in sparring was compensated with ferocity and speed. The vines could not regenerate fast enough, nor could a blow be landed on Artemis properly.

Alexa, on the other hand, was left defenseless and continuously rolling out of oncoming blows that left small dents in the earth. Her own weapons discarded and being used against her, hacking at their previous owner as though enraged at improper use. Her lips were moving faster than lighting, possibly her favorite quote as though it were a prayer.

"You are hopeless!" Artemis snarled, looking over to where Alexa was before kicking her opponents one more time and running to the aide of the other Amazon. A thorny vine struck her back, knocking Artemis to the ground. The earth underneath suddenly came alive as greenery became consuming the two fallen women in coffins of vines.

Artemis began hacking at the vines with her blade before both her wrists were tied down. Alexa had curled up in a ball, too terrified to act now. She shouldn't have to be dealing with this, Alexa could never be on the battlefield. That was something that tied Donna to the woman, albeit for different reasons.

"Run, Donna!" Artemis shouted. "We'll be fine!"

Ignoring the plea, Donna began running towards them – hopefully, the sword could be retrieved and become their salvation – when she felt something snatch her arms and pin them to her sides. No! Vines began cocooning her as well, air becoming thinner…

"Donna!"

So, this was how she would meet her end, consumed by plant-life. There were those who held a passion for such organisms, certainly, but this seems to be an extreme. Before her vision was completely obscured, Donna thought that she saw some vines burst into flames where Alexa was captured.

Smoke started filling her nostrils moments later, her lungs coughing the toxins out of her system. She felt herself being pulled out of the vinery by a gentle grip. Alexa was holding a branch cloaked with fire on top in one hand, covered in scratches across her face and forearms. Mutters of disbelief were heard in the background.

"Have the gods answered our prayers of aid or are we in the midst of another piece of trickery as well?" There was never a time in her life that Donna heard Artemis that surprised before.

"Simply flint and dry wood that I acquired earlier." Alexa said. Her eyes didn't meet with Artemis. "It wasn't much, but clearly enough."

"Then we are all thankful for your quick thinking." Donna said casually. She felt it like the wind, there was no denying it. They would have a chat about what had really occurred later once the intruder was taken care of. She shared a quick glance with Artemis, her eyes agreeing with what Donna suspected.

Rumblings from the earth ceased, as if sensing the fire as something to not trifle with. The vines maintained their distance, as if a large bubble had suddenly formed around the three as protection. How long could they maintain the fire before it burned out?

"Perhaps our best chance would be to make it into one of the temples for the time being." Alexa said. "We can do nothing and help no one by hiding along the edges of the island."

Artemis picked up her sword from the ground, gently brushing off burnt roots before turning to glare at Alexa. "And what if we are to be attacked by the rocks then? What a tale to regard for generations to come: two Amazons and a coward face death by the hands of shrubbery and rock. Such an epic worthy of Homer."

"Maybe we should listen to her…" Donna muttered quietly.

"I am capable of speaking for myself, Donna." Alexa smiled kindly at the girl. She turned her gaze to Artemis with the same expression. "We cannot expose ourselves out in the open any longer. The time for stealth is over."

"And why is that?" Artemis crossed her arms. Alright, she was in a listening mood, that was good. Would Alexa be able to convince her of a different plan now?

Alexa gestured to the terrain around them. She said. "This was clearly no accident. The intruder has demonstrated that they can conjure magic, and if this recent – and admittedly embarrassing – attack means something, it is that they are aware of our general location. The longer we stay here, the more likely the intruder will strike again."

Artemis glared at her for a moment…and huffed in defeat – Thank Hera! – shaking her head as she did so.

"Then again, relocating closer to the enemy might be a little risky."

And the glare returned.

"Then why should we put ourselves in more danger?" Artemis said, her voice dripping with frustration.

"Consider the options." Alexa said. "Which sounds less painful: dealing with the forces of nature or dealing with the chance of petrification?"

There was silence, and then…

"Petrification it is, then."

* * *

The evening slowly gave way to dawn, and the early bird were catching the worms. In the case of Superman, however, that meant –

"So…a janitor?" There was a barely hidden grin on Robin's face.

"Shut up." Zatanna refused to look at him.

"A _magical _janitor?"

"Shut up."

"A magical janitor that works as an interrogator on the side?" Somehow, that sounded more insulting than the last comment.

"What part of shut up do you _not _understand?" Zatanna whipped around to glare at the young boy.

There was silence. And then Robin opened his mouth again instead of keeping it closed for once. "….the shutting up part."

"_Tuhs pu._"

There was the sound of muffled noise, Superman looked at where Robin was and saw him trying to utter a sound, the mouth forbidden to open like it was glued shut. Two parts of his mind were in conflict with one another: an image in the form of Superman with a halo shaking his head in disappointment over Zatanna's reaction while a Superman dressed in demon horns and spiky tale was thankful that she managed to get Robin to stop talking somehow. At least she didn't resort to hitting Robin…

Superman looked at Batman, who was tinkering with a flat-looking rectangular box. He must have been working on the holo-maps again.

"Okay, so we know which cult this Faust character belongs to. Now what?" He asked.

Batman looked at him, the expression on his face unreadable. "Head back to Diana. Tell her we're making process. And stay with her until she's released and come find us. If everything goes according to plan, we'll have the information and the relics by next sunrise."

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Superman asked. "I could contact J'onn and-"

"No."

"I'm serious, I could give him and the Flash help and-"

"No."

"They can't do it by themselves-"

Batman gave him that _look_ again. The one that said 'don't mess with me' with a simple eye-squint. Didn't the Flash call that 'The Bat-Glare'? He turned to Zatanna.

"Zatanna, tell Superman why we don't need his help."

Ok…?

"Listen up, Big Guy, 'cause I don't want to repeat myself." Zatanna walked up to him and looked at him straight in the eye. "Do you remember what I told you about your assistance back in the museum?"

"No, but I recall you freezing my body when I was about to touch something." Superman said dryly.

Zatanna sighed. "I'm starting to see why Batman's grouchy all the time. It's just that you have a weakness against magic of any kind. There was magic pollution in the area and I didn't know what kind of effect it would have on you."

"And you don't seem to like me that much, do you?" Superman said bluntly.

Zatanna's eyes widened. What? Did she think J'onn was the only person who could understand what someone else was thinking?

"I know that when people say they don't need my help, it's usually because they think of me as a nuisance." Superman said casually.

Zatanna leaned close to Superman's face. "Well, maybe it's because you're poking your head where you shouldn't."

"Like what you're doing right now?" Superman retorted.

She looked down and sighed after a moment. "Anyways, we don't know the full extent of Faust and his powers. And with a bruiser like you with a weakness to magic in general, your presence will be more of a burden than a use. Besides, Batman told me that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were off world. Chances are, we're going somewhere far from civilization. That means we need someone to stay on the Homefront and keep the peace."

"By myself?!" No. He couldn't do it. Superman learned that the hard way when the Imperium invaded. That was why the Justice League was formed in the first place. What if another invasion like that happened?

"We'll just be gone for a day at the most." Zatanna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Besides, you'll have Mister Smooth for company."

Robin crossed his arms and glared at Zatanna when she looked his way. Then, he started making gestures with his hands, forming symbols and – wait a minute!

"Watch your language, young man!" Superman said sharply.

Robin's face turned red and he dropped his arms to the side. Well, he sure did know how to be theatrical. Maybe he could pass for a mime in the future? No, that was a little mean to think of.

"_Kaeps yleerf._"

Robin blinked and touched his lips, as if they were unglued. The young boy tested his mouth, as if he were making sure there wasn't anything that prevented it from moving.

"Will you drop the whole 'janitor' thing now?" Zatanna crossed her arms.

"Will you answer my question?" Robin countered. Superman sighed. He was definitely hanging out with the Flash too much. If this kept up, Zatanna might jinx him again and conveniently forget to remove it.

"I'm not a janitor, now please let me live it down and spend the rest of my life in peace."

"Deal."

Zatanna blinked. "Just like that?"

Robin nodded.

Zatanna narrowed her eyes. "You were just messing with me, weren't you?"

Please don't say anything, please don't say anything, please don't say anything. "…if I say maybe, will you jinx me again…?"

"Over my dead body!"

He didn't know what was more surprising; the fact Superman raised his voice to a shout, or the fact that Batman said it at the exact same time in a quieter tone. Batman's voice was more of a growl, something that made the general area feel colder somehow. Zatanna took a few cautious steps back, nonetheless.

"You know, I can help too." Robin said.

"This is outside of Gotham and-"

"And I can't do any of this by myself." Robin cut Batman off. "Superman has the whole world to look after, and I would just get in the way. Besides." He added with a smirk. "You said in that meeting that patrol time wouldn't be interfered with. And since Diana broke into the museum in Gotham, wouldn't it make it my business too?"

Batman furrowed his eyes at him. "Watch it."

Superman felt like slapping his forehead. This wasn't going to end well.

"Fine, I'll…I'll stay here and do what I can." Robin said, his head hung in defeat.

"I didn't say that." Batman said.

Robin looked up with a confused expression.

"I was referring to your attitude, not the situation." Batman continued. "There isn't much you can do on your own. You can come along."

"Or we could just send him home." Superman offered up, noticing that the only person who seemed to be focusing on what he was saying was Zatanna.

"But what about my book report?" Robin asked. Zatanna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm supposed to be writing about a Greek god or goddess of myth, maybe this could be an educational field trip?"

He smiled nervously when he was finished talking.

"Fine." Batman said. "But stay close and don't do anything rash."

"Okay." Robin nodded.

Great Rao, he was going to collapse with exhaustion before the sun was up high. There must be shadows underneath his eyes by now.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Superman said.

"Come on, I want t-to…" Robin stifled a yawn before continuing. "I want to help."

"It's four in the morning, you're tired, it's dangerous, and I don't want you to be taking any more 'sick days' if you get hurt again." Superman crossed his arms. "If this takes more than a day, then _maybe _you can help to an extent."

Robin's eyes widened with glee.

"I said maybe." Superman repeated. "Now. I'm going to drop you off home and I expect you to use this time to sleep and work on that project."

"But I can-"

"One more word and you won't do anything related to the mission at all." Batman cut in. Robin looked at him with a determined expression, but it quickly sagged when Batman glared at him.

Batman turned to Superman. "Check up on Diana. Tell the police the museum's back to its original state and make sure no one gets wind of this. One word and it'll be a field day."

Superman nodded, walking over to Robin and going down on one knee. He felt weight on his back as Robin clambered on and stood upright again. His feet detached themselves from the earth, and went higher and higher off the ground.

"Hey wait! What exactly was Bird Boy saying in sign language?" Zatanna called out.

"You do not want to know." And then he flew off.

* * *

The stone in his hand glowed brighter now. This was good, right?

He chuckled to himself. Weird day he was having so far. Diana wrecks a museum and gets arrested, then goes on a rant about her "sisters" were in danger. And now he and J'onn were assigned to find the remaining two pieces of whatever it was Diana was after.

Maybe he would be allowed to go onto the island Diana grew up in after his job was done. And it better be soon, because he was running low on energy bars. No desire to have a repeat of the sewers. He could almost feel the sun bathing his…spandex now. Sand underneath his feet. The sounds of waves crashing onto the shore. And best of all; women who probably never saw a man in a millennium.

What would they be like? Strong warriors? Curious? Blood-thirsty and somehow endearing like Hawkgirl?

Would they enjoy iced mochas? He could go for one right about now. He could already taste it on his lips, the bittersweet flavor tinged with chocolate. Hmmm.

No. He had to stay on task. There would be time for mocha and hot girl fantasies later. Neither of those could happen if Flash didn't play his part. For Diana's sake.

The stone glowed in his hand again. Flash ran, silently begging that he find the damn artifact already. He had been running across the globe for several hours now. Moments later, he found himself standing in front of an old temple that Indiana Jones would have been in.

Now, where was he? Jungle-like scenery, old temple in the clearing, maybe he was in South America. One dash into the temple later, and the Flash held what must have been one of the artifacts in his hand. The stone in his hand seemed to agree. It glowed so bright that he had to cover his eyes with his hand and even turn away with the MacGuffin in question glowing too.

But wait a minute…in all of the movies involving temples, there were always booby traps to stop the hero from taking the treasure. And there was _nothing_ triggered inside of the temple that would have attempted to make life difficult for him. Then again, traps needed to be fixed and set up again over time. Maybe the traps can't work due to old age?

There was a loud noise behind him, and then something collided with his face with almost the same level of force like that tumble with Grundy a few months back.

Wait.

Something _hit_ him? Flash looked up, the dizziness fading away as fast as it appeared, looking at what must have been his shadow. Do shadows typically stand or was his head conked up worse than he realized? He blinked. Yep, definitely having a Peter Pan moment here. The figure in front of him was completely black, except for the eyes, which were a glassy white.

Was it trying to replicate the masking shielding Flash's face, or was this supposed to be something to be afraid of? Shame, most villains seemed to lack originality now.

He got into his battle stance, the one that GL had been drilling into his head for the past few months now, poised to strike.

_'If you're up against someone just as fast as you are, the best thing to do would be to wait. If you go first, they'll turn your strength against you. Move with the current.'_

Coming from the same guy who barely watched real television, GL sure knew how to sound like he was a Jedi. Maybe he was part of the first generation of fans.

Alright. Now he had to play the waiting game and hope that his opponent's reaction time is a little off. Soon enough, the fake rushed right at him. Flash side-stepped out of the way by several inches. No need for speed here. Then he saw a leg swing at him and hit him in the stomach.

Flash keeled over for a millisecond before grabbing hold of the leg and began pulling. He planted his feet in the ground and started spinning in a circle, going faster and faster until dirt started flying off the ground. The wind started picking up, encasing the two inside of a vortex. Flash loosened his grip on the fake and watched as it went up into the air, trapped inside of the tornado.

A sense of victory built up in his chest…before the fake started rotating its arms until they created two wind tunnels, pushing itself through Flash's man-made twister and pushing the Speedster to the ground. The next few moments, Flash was forced to roll on the ground, dodging bullet-fast punches that left dents in the earth.

"Hey! What did the earth do to you?" Flash taunted as he pushed himself up. The fake didn't respond and rushed at him. Flash ducked and swayed with each blow, his skin barely grazed from impact. He felt something tug at the artifact in his hand and then a foot dig into his stomach. Flash keeled over, his grip weakening enough for the fake to snatch the artifact out of his grasp.

Flash reached for the object, but another punch collided with his jaw. Something cracked on the inside, around the left cheekbone. There was the gross taste of wet metal on his tongue. He spat out red by the mouthful. Great. Now he couldn't talk for a while without hurting himself. And then there was eating. GL's voice rang in his head again.

_'When your opponent takes something of yours, don't focus your energy trying to get it back. You'll just get yourself knocked out for your trouble.'_

Right. He couldn't focus on it. No matter how much Diana needed this to save her family, the Flash couldn't get distracted. He dashed in front of the fake, twisted his fist right into its shoulder and ended it with a clean sweep kick. The fake tumbled in the air, but kicked into the earth the moment its feet made contact. Flash had to cover his eyes and mouth, wincing in pain as he did so. His exposed skin started to swell up. A silent prayer to whoever was listening asked that the healing factor to his powers activate soon. And preferably _during_ the fight instead of after, when there is a chance he might be dead.

He spun his arms around until enough wind had gathered to blow the dust away. The fake was nowhere to be seen.

"You know it's pointless, right?"

Flash blinked. Did he hear that right?

"No matter what you do, I'll always do better."

He turned in the direction that the voice came from, but nothing was there.

"I'm faster. Stronger. And you're nothing. You can't even fight yourself, it's that pathetic. Why would anyone bother themselves with you?"

Oh great, the fake was trying to get him to the stage of "Oh what's the use in fighting anymore?" by yapping away. Flash would have loved to make the fake shut up, but his mouth wasn't working properly. He would have laughed if it weren't so ridiculous and his jaw wasn't broken.

Then an idea came into his head.

His finger to the earth, the Flash dragged it along the dirt for several moments, keeping the dust away from his mouth. Finally, his work was done. He snapped his fingers to get the fake's attention and pointed to the message written underneath:

NOT AN ANGSTY HERO. TRY BATMAN NEXT TIME.

"No need. You're more entertaining."

Flash wrote in the dirt again:

WHY? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME. THE ONLY THINGS WE HAVE IN COMMON ARE GOOD LOOKS AND SUPER SPEED. AND I'M _STILL_ BETTER LOOKING THAN YOU.

"I know everything about you…Wally. "

Flash flinched. Now this fake was starting to sound like Lord Voldemort with the stupid mind games.

"I've seen your heart and it is-"

There was no need to guess how that line was going to finish. Faster than the fake could speak, Flash wrote on the ground again:

YOU'RE NOT VOLDEMORT. STOP ACTING LIKE YOU ARE!

"You let a little kid stay with a psychopath."

Flash felt his blood run cold.

"That's right. You know there's something going on and you're content to leave him to suffer. I thought you actually cared about kids…then again, maybe you care about them more than you are willing to admit."

Wait a minute, the fake was trying to get to him again! Too bad it was starting to work a little this time. Except for the last part. A finger was dragged along the earth again at a fast speed.

DUDE, YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON WHO THINKS THAT LAST PART. GET HELP.

Milliseconds later, he sensed something behind him and ducked. Flash slammed his arm into the fake's side, snatching the artifact away from it. Huh. Two birds with one stone. Nice. He placed his free hand to his left cheek and pushed, not wanting his face to heal incorrectly. Pain seared as pressure was applied to the area. Another unseen punch to the face and the Flash collapsed in a daze.

"You're second-best. Nothing like him."

Flash's vision was becoming blurry, God, his head hurt like hell. There wasn't any sign that it would go away shortly. Man, he almost forgot what it was like before his powers.

Another kick to the stomach.

"Nothing."

Left arm.

"A distant second."

Left hand.

"Why did he ever waste his time on the likes of you?"

Dear God, if that fake didn't shut up soon, it better hope that it had life insurance!

X

Feet planted on the ground, the gem glowing brightly as if to say that this was the location of the artifact. Ninety degrees north and the Sun rising from the east at this time. The building before him stood immaculate and imposing, like a colosseum. A place for entertainment, perhaps.

The cameras peeked at him with dull interest. For a moment, he wondered if anyone in security was looking at what was footage of a tall green man with a glowing rock in his hand. A commotion was the last thing he wanted, and so J'onn walked away from the cameras and touched the concrete a distance away. Phasing through the wall felt no different than walking in broad daylight. Soon enough, he crossed through and immediately turned his skin transparent, certain that none should look at him.

The gem, on the other hand, remained visible and glowing still.

He could almost hear Flash saying something on the lines of: 'Hey, maybe they'll think it's normal for rocks to float' before others would look at him, foolish a thought to have ever been uttered. His skin became visible again and the risk of detection increased tenfold thus. It was still early in the morning, however, so there should be few problems as long as the artifact was located and his exit quick.

The gem glowed bright as Sol itself now, a good sign, hopefully. But several steps later, the light dimmed down. He frowned. Going several steps backwards brought the light in the gem back to its original state. Taking steps in another direction brought the return of the fading light. It was like…

Walking with a compass on top of a magnet…

The dirt underneath the flooring felt cold, emulating a sense of isolation and life without sunlight. Something brushed up against his fingers, warm and alive. His vision saw through the layers of earth, an oddly formed object standing out. The moment his hand grasped at it, his body started freezing up. It was becoming difficult to maintain his intangible form like this, rising to the surface before becoming solid again. His head now wracked with pain, a voiceless scream erupting past his throat.

_'J'onn? J'onn, come home.'_

What was this? That voice…

_'Beloved, come to us…'_

No. It couldn't be - !

_'We miss you, Father!'_

Gods of Mars.

His beloved was standing before him, elegant and tall. Her arms were outstretched. His darling children were right behind her, their grins brighter than a star.

_'Beloved, please come home.'_

Home? Home was gone.

_'J'onn.'_

_'Father.'_

_'Brother.'_

Get out.

'_Friend.'_

Get out.

Everyone he knew was shouting into his ears now.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So, I've changed things around in terms of what defenses attack anyone who tries to steal the artifacts: A mirror image opponent and a security systems that attacks you psychologically.

Looking back at Paradise Lost Part 1, the defenses seemed to take form of whatever it thought would be helpful against thieves: be it physical, mental, or both.

J'onn and Flash took on a large snake that breathed fire, which meant it managed to take into account J'onn's weakness while the Flash can't handle large opponents that well on his own. Diana and Superman were caught in an illusion that made them see each other as monsters, forcing them to fight to the brink of death. And the large statue in the museum was clearly meant to take on Diana's strength, but didn't put into account her willingness to persevere.

I thought of having Flash despair a little more, but then I remembered that he took insults from Braniac's robot!Flash questioning his own abilities. He was able to brush them off like nothing and be the first Leaguer to take down his opponent after a quick comeback. Aside from being frustrated from a lack of being treated seriously in Justice League: Unlimited, Flash is the most stable person when it comes to maintaining happiness.

Plus, I didn't really like the idea of using angst on _every _hero. Not everyone in the story is going to act the same or else it would be boring. Too many Young Justice fanfics have a Whump!Wally in them and I didn't want to be a part of that trend, on purpose or accident.


	18. Chapter 16: No Immunity from Publicity

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network. All Rights to Batman and Robin Belong to DC Comics, Bob Kane, and Bill Finger.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: No Immunity From Publicity**

There was no chance for sleep, too many thoughts were crowding in wakefulness and harassed in drowsiness in more lucid images. The mattress was thin from use and the pillow nonexistent. The garb offered lay on the ground, unfolded and tossed aside with no thought of where it would land. The orange fabric scratched her skin and was threadbare. Should a fight occur, it would be ripped off too quickly.

She was told to wait and wait she did. Funny how easily she would slip into following orders again so quickly. Like a soldier. But why didn't she just break out? It wasn't as if she wasn't capable of doing so? Just walk up to the cell door and squeeze the bars into positions they weren't suited for and walk out of the gaping hole created.

Oh right. Because it would "cause more trouble than it was worth." Those were the words spoken to her by Superman when he forbade her from leaving. It was only with the promise that the others would gather the artifacts and ensure the safety of Donna, Alexa, and Artemis that Diana complied. But she still wasn't satisfied with the decision, everyone acting like she should comply without argument.

But it wasn't just the simple assurance that made Diana stay. She loathed to admit it, but she was curious with how imprisonment worked within Man's World. The bars were made of iron, much like the cells back home. And instead of having each prisoner reside within a cell by themselves, they were cramped together like dirt.

At least, that was what she saw before being put into a small cell with room for one. No one in that cramped-like-dirt cell seemed to have noticed her when Superman and the Man called Gordon were escorting her. Some of the gazes held the look of defeat or despair. There were others that held a bitterness in their eyes, not like Artemis, but more untamed and wild. Like animals that needed to be put down.

What other dark secrets did Man's World hold?

To see women locked up in cages like animals and left to suffer in their misery…it brought her blood to a boil. Crimes committed on Themyscira were handled with dignity by the council and the accused. Any prisoner abused unjustly would get retribution against the one who had wronged them. Instead of democracy, Diana was witnessing the practice of herding human livestock.

_Cruelty_, she wanted to scream. The only thing that kept her from acting was the promise that her people would be saved. Were she to escape, the deal would potentially be nullified and the Amazons possibly left in a worse state than previous. Should she stay, time would be consumed and three days' time would come and go like waves on the shore and the deal with Faust ensuring safety of all be nullified. Such marvelous choices. What was that phrase Superman had described during their time negotiating with the menacing – and possibly sexist – King of Atlantis? It was like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

_No._ Another voice rang in her head. _Superman is our friend and ally. He would never be that unreasonable_.

_But it could all just be an act_. The more aggressive and cynical voice in her head rang out. _He could very well be using us for some ulterior purpose._

_Like what?_ She could almost hear an eyebrow being raised. _Take advantage of our title? No one knew of Themyscira until the Invasion happened. What could Superman want from us that doesn't include a place among royalty?_

_Our body_.

_You sound like one of the bitter crones on the Council now. Tell me the one occurrence that Superman has been seen taking advantage of someone for the sake of that person's body? He is practically a virgin._

_Remember the story Mother told us about how she and-_

"Miss Wonder Woman."

She looked up, half-startled from the noise.

The Man, Gordon, looked exhausted. There was no smell of alcohol on him and nothing different in his stance that indicated he was drinking. Right after that woman promised to repair damages made to the museum, Gordon muttered how he needed something strong. What a strange place where people proclaim what they will do but fail to follow up on them. But perhaps that was a good thing, Mother was adamant against guards drinking ale or wine while on duty. Right now, Gordon looked to be like someone that had just crawled on all fours out of the River Styx. His eyes were half-closed and his face was beginning to look unkempt after a few hours. His face was covered in patches of unshaven hair. How many sleepless nights must he endure regularly in this city?

"You may call me Diana." She said.

"Bail's been paid and damages have been erased. You're free to go." He said. Gordon looked at the garb tossed to the floor with a wry grin. "Orange really doesn't suit you, you know."

A smile crept onto her face, however small it was. "I am grateful that my thoughts are shared with another on the matter."

"Comish! Comish!" A fat Man came into view, huffing and puffing in attempts to collect his breath.

"Bullock, what is it?" Gordon asked.

"You said orders were to keep you-know-what under wraps, right?" He looked at Diana for a moment when he said 'you-know-what', with a glare on his face.

"And?"

"There's a crowd outside. Angry mob-style."

"Christ." Gordon swore under his breath. "There were witnesses, of course this would happen. Any reporters?"

Flashing lights blinded her eyes that night. People dressed in different arrays of clothing holding up small, rectangular boxes in their hands lit up every few seconds as Superman tried to shield Diana with his large body.

"A few." Bullock admitted. "Someone at the museum must have slipped it out. If more people get wind of this-"

"It'll be a field day. 'Wonder Woman destroys museum, charges dropped.' No way this won't be ignored."

What did this mean? Diana felt her face grow warm when Gordon and Bullock looked at her. So many laws to keep track of. Crimes committed back home – her heart felt heavy thinking about Themyscira – were sometimes punished by death if the offense was too great to compensate through any other punishment. But those who worked within the law in Man's World were doing everything in their power to subvert punishment on Diana's part.

"Wonder Wom – I mean, Diana – we're going to have to sneak you out the back." Gordon began pacing back and forth between the room. He turned to Bullock. "Bullock, make sure that none of those people see her. If anyone asks, give no comments or hints. Let no one in without authorization and for God's sake, don't antagonize anyone this time."

Bullock made a _pfft_ sound under his breath, his face showing disbelief. "Comish, when have I ever –"

He stopped when he saw the glare forming on Gordon's face. Bullock relented.

"Alright, alright. No antagonizing or bad-mouthing. Got it."

Gordon reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a…walkie talkie? Was that what they called it?...and pressed a button on it, making it _beep!_

"Ground Zero to Night-Stalker, come in. Over."

Several moments passed.

"What is it, Ground Zero?" Batman's voice came through.

"We need a rain check on evacuating Prisoner D. Tell Blue that we need to make adjustments and not come over."

"It's that bad."

"Angry mob outside. Reporters weren't there, but we still had witnesses. Posting on new media sites whatever they could and stirring the pot with what they had."

"I'll relay to Blue. Night-Stalker out."

"Blue?" Diana asked.

"Codename for Superman." Gordon explained. "Ground Zero's my codename and Batman…well, you don't need any other explanation."

"But why refer to one another like that if you are aware of each other's identity?"

Gordon smiled ruefully. "Technically, working with a vigilante looks bad on the police department, so it's not like there's a special phone we can use to call You-Know-Who. Walkie-talkies….you know what they are, right?"

Diana nodded.

"Well, there are times where they don't exactly work the way you want them to." Gordon continued. "Sometimes, background noise makes conversation difficult. Or maybe there's a build-up in static. But it's still effective enough for us to contact each other without bending the rules any further."

"So in other words, you use rudimentary methods of communication in order to work around the rules." Diana observed.

"We do have better equipment here." Gordon added. "But buying the cheap stuff at dollar stores would be a lot better than having accusations of 'wanted criminals' having access to our gear."

"I should probably go now before you gain any more unwanted attention." Diana made her way to the cell door and pushed it open with minimum effort.

Gordon looked in horror at the indent made in the way adjacent to him, cracks forming in the wall.

Diana walked off without looking back, it would be handled by someone, she knew it would.

* * *

"Superman. Change of plans. Don't go down to the GCPD." Batman's voice rang loudly in his ear.

"Any reasons for this?"

"How does an angry mob sound to you?"

"Point taken." Superman sighed. He looked at the sleeping form of Dick, watching for any reactions to creep on his face. His heartbeat had slowed down, there was no way the kid could alter that without hurting himself. He continued. "What's the new plan going to be?"

"Check up on J'onn's location. He hasn't made contact in a while now. It's becoming a concern."

"What about Diana?"

"You can't be seen by anyone in Gotham right now. You're pretty low on the popularity scale ever since you and Grundy fought."

"How does that make people hate me more?" Superman said.

"You were in a populated area during the fight. Buildings were damaged, cars destroyed, people nearly crushed. You do the math."

"We definitely need to work on fighting in public." Superman agreed. "I trust you'll be getting her out then?"

"Negative." Batman said through the ear-piece. "Zatanna's helping me with the Faust investigation. We can't have any superheroes be seen at the moment in Gotham or else the public will think we're trying to protect Diana."

"Well…we kind of are." Superman muttered.

"No." Batman disagreed. "We're trying to prevent pandemonium. Repairing the museum and dealing with bail are to compensate for trouble caused. We'll deal with Diana once we get this thing settled down."

"So, it has nothing to do with our reputation?" Superman knew it was going to sound stupid and make him come off sounding selfish, but he just wanted clarification.

"The League doesn't need to be loved, but it needs the trust of the people they're trying to protect. Or else it will cause trouble. I can attest to my first year, police shooting me left and right. We may not be best friends, but it's better than having others get in the way of my work. More lives can be saved."

"Understood. Send me the coordinates and I'll find J'onn."

"Remember, we're dealing with magic. If my guess is correct, J'onn and even the Flash are having trouble. You need to be careful."

"Got it." Superman smiled. "And Batman?"

He heard a sigh. "What?"

"Thanks for clarification."

And then he took to the air and flew off.

* * *

His body convulsed in agony. His body couldn't maintain a single form in the heat.

Must…get…out…his family…the fire…

_J'onn! Please, help us!_

My'ria'h! Beloved!

"Hey, what's that thing doing here?!"

_Father, it burns!_

Dear child, your Father is coming…

"Call security. We have an intruder."

"Maybe we should call the exterminator instead. Giant bug-thing in the mall and near opening time, too."

His family…why did they have to leave him...?

* * *

"Worthless."

Shut up.

"Pathetic."

Really shut up.

"Nothing but a nu –"

He finally landed a punch between the Fake's legs. Instead of a howl of pain, the area he hit began to crack like an egg – not that he could even think of eating one right now with his jaw – and the rest of the body soon followed. Bits of the fake flew everywhere. At least it wasn't a bloody mess, but his hand was hurting like hell now.

His other hand reached for his ear-piece and pressed on it.

"Flsh to Jushtish League. Cn in Jushtish League."

No response and his mouth was really a mess now. Would J'onn be able to set the jaw back in place so it could heal properly?

Behind Flash, he could hear footsteps…pleaseletitbelocalspleaseletitbelocalspleaseletitbelocals…

"Did you really think you could destroy me that easily?"

Aw come on!

* * *

Everything was going according to plan. The lone survivors were venturing out of the jungle and were getting closer to the city. Would the aggressive one lash out at the sight of her beloved "sister" in statue-form? If so, it wouldn't be much trouble to take her on, as long as she was within proximity. She seemed to share the same mindset that those other proclaimed "warriors" had regarding attack. Strike first and ask questions maybe. All he had to do was wait for her to make herself known and strike with the Medallion of Medusa.

Why didn't he disguise himself as a woman beforehand? He could have avoided expending his strength in such a manner had he done that in the first place.

The bookworm would be trickier to deal with, however. Not agile or strong or even showing the resemblance of courage compared to her companions, but still a threat with whatever trickery she pulled against his enchantment. He hadn't met someone with that kind of potential since Talia, and she still had much to learn. No, he had to be swift when dealing with the bookworm before she could utter a sound. She would probably tremble in the face of another warrior...yes...she must have a fear for weaponry, perhaps a trauma of the past. Clearly not a former solider, she had neither the stance or experience. Perhaps he could turn the warrior against her once he had her in his clutches and simply let the bookworm be chopped into pieces.

Hippolyta's youngest daughter, on the other hand, must _not_ be slaughtered. He might just sign his death warrant with that. She was no warrior but she was not a coward either. Would he have enough energy for another Orb of Submission? She would cooperate much better under its...influence. Though Faust admitted to himself that his Master should not expect anything to come of that. One prize was enough.

Faust cracked his knuckles and looked towards his "guest", eyes wide open and out of focus. What a strange creature, once intertwined in the arms of his Master. Such an innocent looking face that held such dark secrets and shame. No one would ever trust the likes of her after learning such things about her history. And with her great-uncle nonetheless.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I apologize for the short chapter. Had to show some further aftermath from the wreckage to the museum and I had a hard time figuring out how to show it. Then the idea hit me, try the easy route. No doubt, people would have seen the incident, especially if police were involved. No need for corrupt officers or sneaky lawyers here.

Then I thought of adding some action into this chapter by having Diana change her mind, but Linkara's voice rang in my ear about heroes doing stupid things. And Diana would most likely cooperate even under duress. The indent in the wall might be the result of her growing panic.

I remember a review of All-Star Batman and Robin from Linkara criticizing the League for worrying about their reputation and not for the kidnapped child, Dick Grayson: Age 12. It helped me form the dialogue between Batman and Superman discussing what they were worried about and hopefully in a way that made them sympathetic. They don't need to be loved, but they do need to be trusted.

I promise that the next chapter will have more detail and the others figuring out who Faust is, help Flash and J'onn and get to Themyscira. Those two aren't having a good day right now. Look for an update the Sunday after Easter, April 23rd. Expect updates to occur every 2 weeks.

Please give feedback and let me know how I did. The more critiques, the better the story gets later on.


	19. Chapter 17: Nightmares and Daydreams

**Author's Notes:** This is the first part of wrapping up the wild goose chase. I'll resolve Flash's part in the next chapter. Also, to the guest who has asked twice about me writing a fanfic about Poison Ivy seducing Robin from _Batman and Robin_...I am kindly going to refuse. And I apologize for not responding the first time, Guest reviewers can't get pms and I thought it was just a one time request.

Let me know what I'm doing right with this story, I want to continue doing what is good and fixing what is bad.

**Smile-I'mTheEndOfAllThatYouSee**, thank you for the reviews for the earlier chapters. In case you're reading this chapter, this story is going for a more realistic reaction to Batman introducing Robin as his partner in crime-fighting. Many a fanfiction involving this ends the issue with Robin winning everyone over with his cuteness. Not happening here, in this universe, people will react more realistically to certain situations. This whole story deals with the Justice League's disapproval throughout and their fears of a child fighting crime.

Here's the next chapter!

* * *

**Disclaimer: All Rights to Batman and Robin Belong to Bob Kane and Bill Finger. All Rights to Justice League Belong to DC Comics and Cartoon Network.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Nightmares and Daydreams**

* * *

_He was being lead – more like pushed, actually – down some hallways. Robin could hear footsteps, their footsteps, bouncing off the walls. What was he supposed to do? Arms pinned to his side, blindfolded, and being carted off somewhere he didn't know. The men leading him – he knew there were at least two, he could hear two other footsteps aside from his own – murmured to each other so quietly, Robin could only catch a few phrases as they walked._

_Unexpected…surprise…monkey wrench…and Two Face._

_Robin couldn't suppress a shudder. He knew about _him_. A former ally of Batman's, used to go by the name of Harvey Dent, District Attorney. He wasn't so sure, but Batman always seemed…sad…whenever that name was mentioned. There were a few times where Batman kept on trying to plead with Two Face – this part, he overheard in a conversation between Bruce and Alfred once – and offering to help him. Apparently, it would end with Two Face refusing and Batman getting hurt. And Batman was always strict with Robin about letting his emotions affect his actions. Grown-ups were so confusing…_

_He finally felt the blindfold be pulled away from his eyes, not too gently. Robin blinked a few times, trying to remember if his mask was still in place. He suddenly felt very vulnerable in front of his two captors, he could feel a draft chilling his legs to the bone. It didn't help that...maybe Batman was right about showing too much leg. What's a wedgie compared to staying warm in the fall?_

_"Boss, we got company." The one on his left said, shaking Robin roughly as if it would demonstrate whom they were talking about._

_"…what is that kid wearing?" A raspy voice spoke up. Robin struggled to see in the dimly lit room, it felt large, like the circus tent so long ago._

_"Dunno." The one of Robin's right said. He suddenly felt a hard WHACK! on his head. "Hey kid, what're you wearing?"_

_Robin didn't answer._

_A hard hand clamped down on his shoulder tightly. He heard a harsh whisper in his ear._

_"I said…what are you wearing?"_

_He struggled to find his voice. "M-my costume."_

_Breath was coming in quick gasps. What was going on?_

_"Your costume…" The harsh voice echoed. "Didn't realize Halloween was coming early this year. Did you, Jack?"_

_"Nope." The man called Jack said. "I thought that you knew something, John."_

_"What's your name, brat?" Two Face's voice echoed in the large room._

_"Robin." He whispered._

_Another hard WHACK! on his head. He thought he was bleeding for a moment._

_"Speak louder." John said._

_"My name's Robin!" He cried out._

_There was a muffled sound, like someone was trying to speak. Suddenly, there was a soft THUD! and the noise stopped._

_"Well, Robin. Do you know where you are?" Two Face's voice asked._

_"NO!" Robin spoke louder than he meant to, but he didn't want to be hit again by his captors._

_"Why don't you take a guess? See what you can find out."_

_His head wasn't working, thoughts were coming and going and he couldn't keep track of what he was trying to think at all. What was so special about the room they were in?_

_Two Face spoke up, either from lack of patience or because he wasn't expecting an answer. "This used to be a courtroom. A place where criminals, bad people, were put on trial. My job used to be to make sure the scum of the Earth was left to rot in jail where they belonged…but nobody in this goddamned city wanted to make my job easy. NO!"_

_Robin flinched at the raised voice._

_"The jury of my…_peers._" Two Face spoke the last word like it was bile coming out of his mouth. "they wanted to defend the very monsters I was sworn in my duty to punish and protect the good people from. One trial, for example, was dealing with Rupert Thorne, a very bad man. He found out things about me that I wanted to keep…classified. And he tried to use that information against me…"_

_For a moment, Robin felt like dozing off. He couldn't focus on what Two Face was saying forever. But it was the knowledge that he was wedged in-between two men who weren't afraid of hitting him that snapped Robin back into focus._

_"…and so I risked my career to put that mobster into the pits of Hell where he belonged. In the end, all I got was the end of my career, my face…and my fiancé…"_

_It became quiet, sounds of someone shuddering were heard. Two Face managed to collect himself after a few moments and continued._

_"So there I was, my life in shambles because of some selfish bastard who thought he could grab the balls of Big Bad Harvey and do you know what happened when he was put on trial for blackmail and assault of a respected DA? Do you know how the jury reacted when they held the fate of one of the greatest infestations that plagued Gotham and plunged it into corruption and greed?!"_

_"No." Robin said, a little too quietly, apparently, since he was struck on the head again._

_"They found him guilty, of course. But the judge overruled it and let the son of a bitch go free!" Two Face screamed. "It was like dealing with a two-faced coin. Heads, they win. Tails, I lose! I used to think that the system was fair, but all I could see after that was chance. Everything that happens is the result of chance. My future, your being here…and even the fate of two of Gotham's biggest bugs. Isn't that right, Your Honor? Batman?"_

_Lights clicked on and Robin shut his eyes until his vision could adjust. When he opened them again, Robin saw two, no three, figures standing on a small stage. Two of them were wearing burlap sacks over their heads and had their hands and feet tied. Over their necks were loops of rope, dangling right above their victims._

_Robin almost screamed when he saw the familiar Bat insignia on the captive to the left –_

Dick gasped for breath and fell out of bed. He rubbed his head to ease the ache. The visions in his head faded away, lingering like a scar like they always did. Dick wished he was able to forget the dream like anyone else could, let it drift into the back of his mind and be forgotten. But that would have made things too easy to deal with…

_What time was it?_

His head turned to the alarm clock on his bed. 12:22.

_Damn it! I overslept!_ _I need to get ready for training. I –_

Dick paused in his rush over to the drawers, his hand hovering over the drawer labeled for Saturday.

_Huh, I forgot, Bruce isn't here…guess I'll have to wait till he gets back and –_

He face-palmed himself, remembering that he wouldn't be able to see the man for the next few hours if at all today. Dick's eyes peered over to his desk, the bedroom computer screen black and unused. The paper, at least four pages long. That was the minimum.

And he wasn't near any of the material he wanted to be near! How often could a kid get information about Greek mythology from a living relic?! Maybe he could meet…no, there was no way the League would let him in on this, loophole or not. No way at all.

But he couldn't just stand here and do nothing!

_Even if part of this is my fault, somehow…I shouldn't have jumped the gun._

_'IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!'_

"Master Richard." An old, British voice came through the door. "I was just about to check in on you. Have we had enough beauty sleep and wish to go outside?"

_Can't I have a moment to myself when I'm _awake!

Alfred. How often did he come off like a patronizing nanny without realizing it? Not that Dick minded much – _Did too!_ – he loved the old man to death. Why did he stay around Bruce, though? He couldn't be with Bruce out of costume in the same room for no more than 10 minutes at a time. It was like being suffocated by silence. Galas were the same thing, they both had excuses to be around other people, however.

How many times did Bruce automatically have a woman or two looping themselves under his arms the moment they walked in? How many times was Barbara there to greet him at the entrance? Commissioner Gordon would then respond with how he could hear the bells ringing anytime now. Dick would always get flustered and lose his voice. Barbara just laughed it off and dragged Dick outside, away from watchful eyes.

How would she react if she knew about his other life?

_Maybe she wouldn't want to be friends anymore with a liar; I know I wouldn't._

"Master Richard, am I not speaking to you or have you chosen to sleep with your eyes open?" Alfred said dryly.

"Whoops, sorry Alfred." Dick tugged at his left sleeve. "Just lost my train of thought. Any sign of Bruce coming back soon?"

"Nothing since Master Clark dropped you off this morning." Alfred shook his head. "I must speak to Master Bruce about this when he returns however."

"Why?" Dick asked.

"Because his stance on the uncanny are becoming moot in light of recent events. I hope he is more reasonable this time, when he learned of Miss Zatanna's…recent developments – and if you're assuming the wrong thing, young man, I will put a dunce cap on your head and make you write lines – Master Bruce hasn't adjusted his stance. Even with the circumstances behind his last encounter with her, he still found excuses to justify those circumstances."

"What were the circumstances?" Dick said cautiously.

There was a look of amusement in Alfred's eyes when he spoke. "I never had to purchase so much clothing for a man's wardrobe over the next few days like that again. Now chop, chop. Be dressed and downstairs within twenty minutes' time for lunch."

And with that, Alfred walked out of the room. Dick quickly rushed to his drawers and pulled out clothes by random, not caring about what was allowed to be worn and what wasn't for once. He just wanted a little space after...whatever the hell was going on. For a moment, Uncle Clark's words came to him.

_Do you want to stop crime-fighting altogether?_

No. He didn't want to stop. He was helping people, he was doing something…he just wanted to breathe freely for a moment. Without Alfred organizing his clothes into what to wear and what not to and Bruce being…Bruce.

_Like I need to wait till a Saturday just so I have to dress in casual button-downs and for eating on a day I'm supposed to be relaxing._

"And please remember what clothes are to be put on this morning, Master Richard. I wouldn't want a system to be derailed out of haste." Alfred's head popped through the doorway, startling Dick into tossing clothes all over the floor. He started picking them up when Alfred strode over and began carefully lifting each article of clothing off the ground before folding them properly and returning them to their respective drawers.

"Sorry, Alfred." Dick replied sheepishly. In the back of his mind, he was screaming to be left alone.

"Might I ask what has come over you, Master Dick?" Dick blinked. _ He rarely calls me that._

"What do you mean?" Dick said evasively.

"You're more jittery than usual."

"I'm just trying to get ready for lunch. Nothing else to it." Dick huffed.

"And yet you are ignoring the labels on your drawers indicating which clothes are to be worn for that day. Sunday clothes are meant to be worn on Sunday, for example." Alfred noted.

"You said twenty minutes and you know how long it takes to get downstairs." Dick lied. _I am _not _going to get into an argument with Alfred over clothing. And whatever else is getting to me. It'll be a 'Now, now, Master Richard. There's no need to overreact. I am here to assist you.' Just give me a little space!_

A cool head pressed against his forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

_No, Wonder Woman needs help and I can't give it. No, you are in my personal space and I would like to be able to enjoy a Saturday like Barbara does. No, I don't like being here with an overgrown man-child!_

"I'm fine." Dick said. "Just hope Bruce can come back soon, so I can help."

"Then it's a good thing I don't have to ask first."

Dick and Alfred simultaneously turned to the doorway, Bruce standing there with his cowl down, looking haggard and grim – _Would it kill you to smile once in a while?_ – with no Zatanna in sight.

_Maybe she was frightened away by Mister Crazy?_

"Does Miss Zatanna have more pressing matters to attend to, or is she frightened that another accident will happen in her presence?"

"She's tracking down Faust's current hideout. Just to confirm my suspicions." Bruce said bluntly.

"And will she be joining us for lunch before long?" Alfred asked.

"No." Bruce said. "She already ate. As did I."

Alfred feigned hurt. "I am starting to suspect you no longer enjoy my cooking, sir."

Bruce almost smirked – almost – and looked towards Dick, the almost smirk fading at once.

"Batcave. Ten minutes. Cancel all plans for today."

_You expected me to make plans when I made it clear I didn't want to miss out on the action?_

"But what about lunch, sir?"

"We'll take drive through." Bruce walked out into the hallway, Dick looking at a crestfallen Alfred with an expression of sympathy.

"I am losing my audience to…_fatty foods_!"

* * *

Superman flew overhead, pressing into his earpiece repeatedly. No signals were being picked up from J'onn. Something wasn't right. _Obviously._ He knew that he was getting close to the location, but was it a good idea for him to go into the mall while it was open?

_Don't be an idiot!_ He thought. _J'onn needs help. We can't just linger just because of we don't want to deal with how others will respond. Besides, what if someone got their hands on the artifact? Then innocent lives would be in danger._

He dived close to the ground, narrowly avoiding a meeting between body and concrete. He forgot how fast he was going to even notice.

Several police cars and ambulances had surrounded the mall – _Dear Rao, no! _ – and judging from the array of voices Superman was picking up, things were going downhill fast. His skin prickled like it was plunged into ice…what kind of monstrosity did that magic item create?!

Screaming coming from inside of the mall along with a loud BOOM! could only make him come up with several possibilities; it was a regenerating bomb, anyone touching it would explode upon making contact, it created a rift into another dimension in which no one could ever survive in.

"Hey, it's Superman!" It didn't sound joyful. More like a cry of terror. If this occurred two years ago, Superman wouldn't have blamed him. But this was getting ridiculous, now. How many giant robots did he have to fight, meteorites to smash, and disasters to assist in before people knew he wasn't the monster they saw invading their Earth?

Superman landed in front of the barricade set up by the police force, barely flinching when he saw several gurneys being wheeled out of the mall holding people covered with scratches caused by fingernails at best and broken limbs at worst. Nearby, someone was receiving CPR.

Superman almost flew in before he remembered what might happen. If those people were being hurt because of J'onn…

_J'onn would never hurt civilians. There's got to be an explanation for all this._

"Superman, thank God you're here." A SWAT officer, maybe the one in charge if the other reactions were an indication, waved him over.

"What's the situation?"

"Pandemonium. People beating each other up, body count's rising to double digits, we're trying to uncover the source." The police officer grimaced.

"Where do I come in?"

The SWAT officer grimaced, like it was something he'd rather not deal with. "Call your Justice League, we need to

Superman winced. "Has anyone seen any green figures, like Martian Manhunter near the premises?"

A shake of the head. "Nothing. Nada. Negative. Any reason for asking?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Superman looked at the building, turning on his X-Ray vision and examined what he could. He could hear heartbeats by the scores, some pounding with panic, others fading into the void. And that spoke nothing compared to the tearing of limbs and crushing of skulls. He couldn't pick up any sign of J'onn.

_Civilians take priority. But…what am I supposed to do when everyone's acting like a lunatic?_

He remembered the frantic descriptions Robin and Flash gave about the statue.

_Where's a witch when you need one? What if that _damn_ artifact we're chasing after is the cause of all this? _

Then he saw something flying towards him and crashed into his chest. Superman automatically felt the body that collided with him melt like water around his torso, constricting him like a snake around its prey.

"J'onn, it's me!" Superman cried out vainly. "Snap out of it."

* * *

Another monster before him, more threatening than the others that J'onn had left to their fates. If they were willing to ignore him for the sake of attacking one another, then he was fine with that. It filled him with sadistic glee to see the Imperium tear itself apart. They reaped what they sowed, what else was there to expect from them? But there was one unattended, the leader, perhaps. The closer he came towards it, the more that painful memory ingrained into his mind cried out.

_Murderer!_

No different than the rest of the bastards, but still someone he could rip to shreds. His world died in a baptism of fire and blood, and it only seemed fitting that these monsters would find no other target than themselves.

He rammed into the beast, wincing a little as he felt his body collide with what felt like steel. What kind of trick was this? J'onn immediately shifted his body around his opponent, hoping to crush it like an insect. Slowly, but surely, he could feel air loosening from its lungs, life trickling out one second at a time.

It opened its mouth, screeching in defiance and releasing spittle onto J'onn's face. A moment later, and he could feel it breaking out of his grasp and pinning his arms to his side. A shame that it didn't expect a blast of heat from his eyes, letting him go and floating around blindly in mid-air. It may have somehow stolen the powers of his people; ripping away the gifts of shape-shifting, telepathy, and now flight, but J'onn would avenge the Martian that it robbed of their gift and life.

A bone-crushing slap to the face reunited J'onn with the surface, barely evading death with his tough skin. No paralysis gas to incapacitate it, but J'onn only had to deal with one at the moment. He rushed at it again, phasing through and grappling it from behind its neck.

Something hit his back, like a small pinch that quickly faded away in half a moment. More followed and J'onn ignored the attack from behind. Whatever weapons the Imperium had, he could only find pity for them. To barely being able to harm him at all was deserving of mockery.

The Imperium in his grasp screeched again, flying wildly. J'onn decided to give it a grasp of the pain he felt for the past centuries. Fingers pressed against its hard skull and J'onn felt his body become disconnected with everything around him. Everything turned to darkness, there was only him and his target. He poured his pain into the monster's mind, wondering if there was any trace of empathy left in its shell. For a few moments, he could only get a few trickles of his thoughts in. The trickle started turning into a current of memories that bombarded his enemy's head, leaving it screeching in agony.

Suddenly, J'onn felt new memories coming, those he had never seen before.

A woman humming a lullaby as she rocked him back and forth gently.

Smoke and fire, as strong hands pulled out a door and liberated a girl trapped.

A young boy holding a toy elephant, looking up at him shyly with pain-filled eyes.

Another woman with piercing eyes and a cocky smile, black hair billowing in the wind as she leaned towards him for a kiss.

And then…a voice.

"J'onn, snap out of it! It's me, Superman!"

J'onn gasped and shook his head. The Imperium monster was replaced with Superman, and the creatures he sought to rip apart limb from limb were…Gods of Mars!

"Where's the artifact?" Superman asked in a worried tone.

"I do not know." J'onn shook his head sadly. He realized that he still had a hold on Superman and released him. "I found it and then…I…I – "

Superman finished for him. "And then you saw everyone as a monster."

J'onn nodded, allowing the assumption to be treated as truth. He looked at the bloodbath down below. "How are we going to stop this?"

"_Nekawa dna eb eerf!" _A new voice rang out.

Blinding light one moment, and then when J'onn recovered his vision, he saw someone new in the crowd, dressed in a brown trench coat with sandy hair and stubble. He could smell toxins under the man's breath and almost lunged at him when he saw the artifact,

The man looked up and spoke in an accent J'onn was told to be British. It sounded coarse and loud. "You might want to deal with crowd control, gonna need a bloody truck to get them out by the load and you're welcome."

He ended that sentence with a half smirk.

Superman slowly floated down to the man's level and asked. "Who are you and what do you want with that artifact?"

The newcomer continued giving that half smirk as he spoke. "Got an SOS asking for damage control. Zatanna Zatara, you might know her. Short, black hair, hot as bloody Hell and not interested in having a shag with her teacher. Not that I mind, not my type really."

He tossed the item to Superman and continued nonchalantly. "Said she was 'fraid of what kind of trouble you lot were getting into and requested my assistance while she dealt with, ahem, matters connected to this. Constantine, by the way. John Constantine; exorcist, magician, detective, and a man who loves a shag and a faggot."

Superman could only stare.

"It means sex and cigarette, you dunce." Constantine frowned. "God, I have to explain that every time to you Americans."

"Why the hell didn't you help out earlier?!" Superman shouted. Constantine didn't flinch.

"Let's see here." Constantine counted out with his fingers. "Dangerous McGuffin still looming about and had to stay out of the wrong hands. People who saw you as a monster because they were all dumb enough to touch mysterious objects in the first place. And an Un-Jolly Green Giant ready to rip you limb from limb if a tastier snack hadn't flown in and distracted him long enough for you to snap everyone out of the enchantment with a load more energy than usual."

He pulled the trench-coat around him tighter. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have another friend of yours to save from whatever mess he or she are in."

"The Flash hasn't come back yet?" Superman asked.

J'onn could see SWAT officers swarming the place, along with doctors and volunteers to help the injured. How much damage would the last piece be causing Flash and anyone near the vicinity, he dreaded.

Constantine pulled out a cigarette, then a lighter. A few moments later, he was puffing out smoke. "That's exactly what I'm going to find out, now help these poor bastards before the next disaster happens."

Yellow symbols surrounded John Constantine and in a burst of light, he was gone.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Next update will be between the 7th or 14th of May, since finals are coming up and I need to balance college with writing. Any concerns, please comment down below. Enjoy the weather and sorry for the late night update!


	20. Announcement to Readers

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry to say that this isn't an update. My plan was to update the next chapter by the 14th at the latest, but since only one person has been reviewing each update now, I'm starting to feel drained. This story came to mind when I was 18 with a lighter workload than I have now, and not as refined as my later stories, but I'm trying to adjust the writing as I learn more.

But the thing is...is there any point now? I know people are reading this, but I don't know if they like it or not. Is there anything I'm doing well on, anything I can improve? Is the story arc going too fast or too slow? Are the characters alright? Any kind of response?

If no one likes this story, then I'll stop writing it. There are other stories I have on here that are better and I had so many plans for Dynamic, it would be pretty long.

Let me make one thing clear: This story is NOT dead, I will definitely update by next Wednesday at the latest or this Sunday at the earliest. But please, just tell me if I can do better with the story or if I'm fine with how I'm doing things just don't stop.


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